61 Peter Singer Quotes for You to Enjoy

Peter Singer

Australian Philosopher

Born: Jul 6, 1946

Animals Ethics People Think World You

Related authors: Albert Camus Aristotle Confucius Friedrich Nietzsche Lao Tzu Plato Socrates Sun Tzu

The new freedom of expression brought by the Internet goes far beyond politics. People relate to each other in new ways, posing questions about how we should respond to people when all that we know about them is what we have learned through a medium that permits all kinds of anonymity and deception. Peter Singer

Politics Freedom People Internet Other Medium Relate Ways Respond Kinds Brought About Through Freedom Of Expression New Beyond Know Anonymity Learned How Permits Questions Goes New Ways Deception Them Far Should Each Expression Posing

My own view is that being a vegetarian or vegan is not an end in itself, but a means towards reducing both human and animal suffering and leaving a habitable planet to future generations. Peter Singer

Of all the arguments against voluntary euthanasia, the most influential is the 'slippery slope': once we allow doctors to kill patients, we will not be able to limit the killing to those who want to die. Peter Singer

More often there's a compromise between ethics and expediency. Peter Singer

Expediency Ethics More Compromise Between Often

I believe that in this new world that we live in, we often have a responsibility, you know, to actually go beyond the thou shalt nots - that is, the not harming others - and say we can help others and we should be helping others. Peter Singer

Diamonds have an image of purity and light. They are given as a pledge of love and worn as a symbol of commitment. Peter Singer

Love Commitment Light Worn Pledge Given Purity Diamonds Image Symbol

That's a central part of philosophy, of ethics. What do I owe to strangers? What do I owe to my family? What is it to live a good life? Those are questions which we face as individuals. Peter Singer

Life Good Family Ethics Face Strangers Live Good Life Philosophy Those Part Individuals Questions Owe Which Central

I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came to be persuaded that animals should be treated as independent sentient beings, not as means to human ends. Peter Singer

Animal Animals Lover Independent Fond Animal Lover Never Involved Became Came Been Human Just Movement Ends Sentient Really Persuaded Should Means Certainly Beings Treated

To be a utilitarian means that you judge actions as right or wrong in accordance with whether they have good consequences. So you try to do what will have the best consequences for all of those affected. Peter Singer

Best Good You Judge Try Will Consequences Those Wrong Affected Accordance Whether Means Actions Utilitarian Right

Without in any way minimising the economic and psychological blow that people experience when they lose their jobs, the unemployed in affluent countries still have a safety net, in the form of social security payments, and usually free healthcare and free education for their children. They also have sanitation and safe drinking water. Peter Singer

Education Experience People Water Safety Free Drinking Lose Way Jobs Security Net Economic Drinking Water Countries Safe Also Safety Net Without Healthcare Still Unemployed Affluent Blow Any Children Form Psychological Social Sanitation Payments Social Security

Many European countries, as well as Australia, Canada, Israel, and New Zealand, have adopted legislation that creates a 'public lending right', where the government recognises that enabling hundreds of people to read a single copy of a book provides a public good, but that doing so is likely to reduce sales of the book. Peter Singer

Government Good Book People Single Hundreds Hundreds Of People Recognises Adopted Countries New Likely Well Read Enabling Reduce Israel Doing Sales Provides Australia Canada Legislation Where New Zealand Lending Public Public Good Creates European European Countries Many Zealand Right Copy

If we are concerned about the exploitation of human workers in countries with low standards of worker protection, we should also be concerned about the treatment of even more defenceless non-human animals. Peter Singer

Protection Animals Exploitation About More Countries Also Concerned Human Low Worker Workers Should Standards Even Treatment

Knowing that we can control our own behaviour makes it more likely that we will. Peter Singer

Will Own Control Our More Likely Knowing Makes Behaviour

When I was a child, my father used to take me for walks, often along a river or by the sea. We would pass people fishing, perhaps reeling in their lines with struggling fish hooked at the end of them. Once I saw a man take a small fish out of a bucket and impale it, still wriggling, on an empty hook to use as bait. Peter Singer

Me Man People Father Walks Once Saw Hook Hooked Out Would Small Struggling Small Fish Take River Bucket Along Bait Perhaps Empty Pass Still Fish Reeling Fishing Lines End Child Often Them Use Sea Used

Of those who die from avoidable, poverty-related causes, nearly 10 million, according to UNICEF, are children under five. They die from diseases such as measles, diarrhoea, and malaria that are easy and inexpensive to treat or prevent. Peter Singer

Treat Those Easy Prevent Inexpensive Causes Malaria According Five Die Diseases Children UNICEF Measles Who Nearly Million

All I say about severely disabled babies is that when a life is so miserable it is not worth living, then it is permissible to give it a lethal injection. These are decisions that should be taken by parents - never the state - in consultation with their doctors. Peter Singer

There's a difference between early and late abortions. If you have a late abortion, where the fetus might feel pain, then I think you should have a good reason. Because then you're inflicting pain. As you go through the third trimester, you need to have more serious reasons to end a pregnancy. Peter Singer

Good You Abortion Pain Think Late Good Reason More Through Feel Between Because Go End Fetus Difference Where Might Pregnancy Then Should Reason Reasons Serious Early Need Third

In an ideal world, the amount of money we spend on medical research to prevent or cure a disease would be proportional to its seriousness and the number of people who suffer from it. Peter Singer

I don't think nationalism is alone holding the field; it's in contention with a lot of different things. Peter Singer

Alone Nationalism Holding Field Think Contention Lot Different Different Things Things

I don't think there's much point in bemoaning the state of the world unless there's some way you can think of to improve it. Otherwise, don't bother writing a book; go and find a tropical island and lie in the sun. Peter Singer

Today, if you have an Internet connection, you have at your fingertips an amount of information previously available only to those with access to the world's greatest libraries - indeed, in most respects what is available through the Internet dwarfs those libraries, and it is incomparably easier to find what you need. Peter Singer

Today You World Internet Indeed Those Easier Respects Libraries Find Fingertips Only Through Most Access Greatest Dwarf Information Available Your Connection Amount Need

When diamonds' role in fuelling violent conflict in Africa gained worldwide attention, the diamond industry established the Kimberley process in order to keep "blood diamonds" out of international trade. Peter Singer

Conflict Diamond Worldwide Out Attention Industry Trade Diamonds Blood Role Africa Established Order Process Gained International Keep International Trade Violent

Human decision-making is complex. On our own, our tendency to yield to short-term temptations, and even to addictions, may be too strong for our rational, long-term planning. Peter Singer

Strong Own Too Addictions Our Complex Temptations Rational Tendency Long-Term Yield May Human Short-Term Decision-Making Planning Even

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