Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter
    Unavailable
    Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter
    Unavailable
    Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter
    Ebook404 pages5 hours

    Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter

    By Peter Singer

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead

    About this ebook

    Provocative essays on real-world ethical questions from the world's most influential philosopher

    Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. He is also one of its most controversial. The author of important books such as Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, Rethinking Life and Death, and The Life You Can Save, he helped launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements and contributed to the development of bioethics. Now, in Ethics in the Real World, Singer shows that he is also a master at dissecting important current events in a few hundred words.

    In this book of brief essays, he applies his controversial ways of thinking to issues like climate change, extreme poverty, animals, abortion, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, the ethics of high-priced art, and ways of increasing happiness. Singer asks whether chimpanzees are people, smoking should be outlawed, or consensual sex between adult siblings should be decriminalized, and he reiterates his case against the idea that all human life is sacred, applying his arguments to some recent cases in the news. In addition, he explores, in an easily accessible form, some of the deepest philosophical questions, such as whether anything really matters and what is the value of the pale blue dot that is our planet. The collection also includes some more personal reflections, like Singer’s thoughts on one of his favorite activities, surfing, and an unusual suggestion for starting a family conversation over a holiday feast.

    Now with a new afterword by the author, this provocative and original book will challenge—and possibly change—your beliefs about many real-world ethical questions.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPrinceton University Press
    Release dateSep 5, 2017
    ISBN9781400888733
    Author

    Peter Singer

    Peter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and laureate professor at the University of Melbourne’s School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. The most prominent ethicist of our time, he is the author of more than twenty books, including Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, and The Life You Can Save. Singer divides his time between New York City and Melbourne, Australia.

    Read more from Peter Singer

    Related to Ethics in the Real World

    Related ebooks

    Philosophy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Ethical Dilemma

      Jul 29, 2019

      Ethical Dilemma
      2 min read

    • Article

      Yes, Determinists, There Is Free Will

      May 16, 2019

      It’s not just in politics where otherwise smart people consistently talk past one another. People debating whether humans have free will also have this tendency. Neuroscientist and free-will skeptic Sam Harris has dueled philosopher and free-will def

      10 min read

    • Article

      Identity

      Sep 6, 2021

      Two millennia ago, Greek philosopher and historian Plutarch wrote about a thought experiment on identity, The Ship of Theseus, in which every plank of wood on a ship is replaced over time. Philosophers were divided: some claimed that the ship “remain

      1 min read

    • Article

      Debate Is For The Cool Kids

      Mar 16, 2023

      “STUDIES SHOW THAT debate is good for you” is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect someone in an ill-fitting blazer and awkward shoes to say at a high school debate competition. Despite what you might think about libertarian magazine editors, I was

      4 min read

    • Article

      SEX, SCIENCE & STEREOTYPES

      Oct 11, 2020

      It has a provocative title and dedication (“For everyone who blocked me on Twitter”), but your book is evidence-based, nuanced and compassionate. Why did you, a liberal “sex positive, non-traditionalist gay rights supporter”, write a book that delves

      6 min read

    • Article

      Peter Singer

      Mar 18, 2020

      Peter Singer
      9 min read

    • Article

      Under The Microscope

      Nov 17, 2021

      Under The Microscope
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Power of 'Onlyness'

      May 1, 2018

      How do you define ‘onlyness’? The word actually doesn’t appear in the English dictionary, but I would argue that it should. Simply put, it means that anyone’s — and quite possibly everyone’s — ideas matter. The genesis of the word starts with the fac

      7 min read

    • Article

      Krista Tippett

      Dec 3, 2016

      Krista Tippett
      2 min read

    • Article

      Living With Meaning

      Jul 31, 2022

      Living With Meaning
      7 min read

    • Article

      Remaking Morality

      Aug 31, 2021

      Remaking Morality
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Search For Answers

      Apr 30, 2020

      The Search For Answers
      12 min read

    • Article

      How To Disagree Well

      Jan 27, 2022

      IT WAS ON CHRISTMAS EVE that I realised I’d been subjected to a social media drive-by shooting. That pinnacle of modern ecclesiastical power, the president of Humanists UK, Professor Alice Roberts had deduced from the headline of an interview I gave

      3 min read

    Reviews for Ethics in the Real World

    4/5

    24 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      In this book, Dr. Singer explores several controversial topics and gives his opinion. I found his section on abortion to be the most interesting.
    • 4/5
      “Words do have consequences, and what one generation says but does not really believe, the next generation may believe, and even act upon.”

      This was a great overview of Peter Singer's ethical essays. I enjoyed reading them a lot. Each essay is about 3-4 pages - making them very easy to get through. He covers a pretty good range of topics, in plain English. His views are mostly utilitarian. The topics cover a large range of topics, from Environmental topics to areas such as Abortion.

      One reason for losing a star, is I believe it would have been better had he provided more "post-scripts" or follow ups, for older essays. Some essay's had been originally posted in 1999-early 2000s, and I think some of them needed more of an update at the end to give a perspective on how things had changed since then. Particularly, where technology had moved forward significantly.

      If you want to read some Ethics, this is certainly a good place to start. There are lots of little nuggets of wisdom in here, and certainly a lot to consider.

      “We need to get over our reluctance to speak openly about the good we do. Silent giving will not change a culture that deems it sensible to spend all your money on yourself and your family, rather than to help those in greater need—even though helping others is likely to bring more fulfillment in the long run.”