"Animal Liberation Now: Past, Present, and Future" by Peter Singer (EQF Memorial Lecture)

On September 8, 2025, for the Emmanuel Q. Fernando Memorial Lecture, an extension of the EQF Philosophy Undergraduate Conference last May 2025, the UP Diiliman Department of Philosophy invited Prof. Peter Singer to speak on "Animal Liberation Now: Past, Present, and Future."

Abstract:

I will present the key ideas of Animal Liberation, originally published in 1975, including the core ethical principle of equal consideration of interests. I will discuss the progress made in improving our treatment of animals so far, but also how nevertheless we remain indefensibly “speciesist” and are inflicting more suffering on animals than ever before. The talk will close with suggestions on actions we can all take to make the world a better place for animals.

About the Speaker:

Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and has taught at Oxford, Monash University, and Princeton University. He first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. A fully revised and updated version, Animal Liberation Now, was published in 2023. His book The Life You Can Save led him to co-found the organization of the same name, which has raised more than US$100 million to assist people in extreme poverty.

Singer’s other books include: Practical Ethics, The Most Good You Can Do, The Point of View of the Universe (co-authored with Kasia de Lazari-Radek), and, most recently, The Buddhist and the Ethicist.

In 2021, Singer was awarded the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. He donated the prize money to effective charities working to reduce suffering, both for humans and for animals. Since retiring from Princeton last year, he has co-hosted the podcast “Lives Well Lived” with Kasia de Lazari-Radek.