Peter Singer - Non-Human Animal Ethics - EA Global Melbourne 2015

Peter Singer discusses moral value of non-human animals - the history of moral progress around equality of human animals and how we ought to treat animals - from Judaism & Christianity to Aristotle to Bentham (father of modern utilitarianism). Singer highlights Benthan's view that the capacity for suffering/joy is the vital characteristic that entitles a being to moral consideration. He discusses why we should take non-human animal suffering seriously and what we can do to alleviate the suffering of non-human animals.

Slides are here: https://www.slideshare.net/adam_ford/...

Animal Liberation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_...

Peter paper 'SPECIESISM AND MORAL STATUS' where he convincingly rejects Speciesism: http://www.oswego.edu/~delancey/Singe...
Abstract: "Many people believe that all human life is of equal value. Most of them also believe that all human beings have a moral status superior to that of nonhuman animals. But how are these beliefs to be defended? The mere difference of species cannot in itself determine moral status. The most obvious candidate for regarding human beings as having a higher moral status than animals is the superior cognitive capacity of humans. People with profound mental retardation pose a problem for this set of beliefs, because their cognitive capacities are not superior to those of many animals. I argue that we should drop the belief in the equal value of human life, replacing it with a graduated view that applies to animals as well as to humans."

Plato.Stanford Entry on Moral Status of Animals: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mor...

Biography: Peter Singer is Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, a position that he now combines with the position of Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. His books include Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, The Life You Can Save, The Point of View of the Universe and The Most Good You Can Do. In 2014 the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute ranked him third on its list of Global Thought Leaders, and Time has included him among the world’s 100 most influential people. An Australian, in 2012 he was made a Companion to the Order of Australia, his country’s highest civilian honour.


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