Ethics in the Real World
82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Princeton University Press
Published:5th Sep '17
£15.99
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
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.
Longlisted for the 2017 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, Pen American Center "In his new book, Ethics in the Real World, Mr. Singer picks up the topics of animal rights and poverty amelioration and runs quite far with them... This book is interesting because it offers a chance to witness this influential thinker grapple with more offbeat questions."--Dwight Garner, New York Times "A terrific recent book ... that wrestles with how much we should donate to charity, and whether wearing a $10,000 watch is a sign of good taste, or of shallow narcissism."--Nicholas Kristof, New York Times "Perhaps more than any modern philosopher, Peter Singer has focused on the question of how to live a better life. If you want a philosophy that can directly alleviate human and animal suffering, read this wonderful book."--Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, and Waking Up "Could well inspire conversations--and arguments--that deepen and complicate the crucial moral and ethical issues that Singer presents."--Kirkus "An accessible introduction to the work of a philosopher who would not regard being described as 'accessible' as an insult... Despite their brevity, the essays do not shirk the big moral questions."--Economist "Philosophy should be a more public endeavor, and Singer's work is an excellent entry point. In a fall that will be shaped by a political contest in many ways detached from genuinely pressing moral issues, it might also serve as a refreshingly complex source of ethical questioning."--Talya Zax, Forward "Singer demonstrates how to write pungently and succinctly about moral philosophy."--Daniel Johnson, Standpoint "The essays in the present volume address issues well beyond Singer's normal range of commentary. In sum, this book not only provides a broad-based introduction to Singer's moral philosophy but also will serve ... as an excellent textbook for any course in applied ethics. For philosophers, Singer's work provides a model for how to transition from the ivory tower to the domain of public philosophy."--Choice
ISBN: 9780691178479
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 312g
376 pages
Revised edition