Up@dawn 2.0 (blogger)

Delight Springs

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Peter Singer, Socratic gadfly

LISTEN. We close Warburton's Little History today and tomorrow in CoPhi, with Peter Singer's utilitarian urgency about expanding the circle of our moral concern beyond narrow speciesism and parochial self-interest.

In The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty, he says "one wants to feel that one’s life has amounted to more than just consuming products and generating garbage... one likes to look back and say that one’s done the best one can to make this a better place for others. You can look at it from this point of view: What greater motivation can there be than doing whatever one possibly can to reduce pain and suffering?” g'r

One does want that, notwithstanding Paul Bloom's thesis that some "chosen suffering" enriches life. (The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning). A good life, a life of well-being, involves more than hedonistic self-indulgence. Of course. The effort to minimize the suffering of others must inevitably incur a measure of pain. Humanists like Vonnegut and Pullman ("there is a meaning, and it is to make things better & to work for greater good and greater wisdom") get that. Humanism is not a hedonism. Nor is it a variety of existentialism that treats meaning as a strictly personal object of manufacture. The greater wisdom does pursue the greater good... (continues)

2 comments:

  1. Tyler Martin H-02
    For my presentation, I will be covering Peter Singer. I have the opportunity to cover one of the few living philosophers that we have studied so far which allowed me to better understand him due to the multitude of interviews and media coverage on him. I will cover the beliefs of Peter Singer, as well as the experiences he has had in his life that led him to believe the way he does. One belief that I will be discussing is Singer’s belief that animals should not be eaten and have as many (and sometimes more) rights than certain human beings. This idea stems from the animal cruelty taking place in our world. Another idea I will be covering is the utilitarianism of Peter Singer and how he believes that it is in the best interest to put some humans “out of their misery” in order to better allocate resources to people that will benefit. The last belief that I will be covering is his altruism. His generosity through his altruistic beliefs not only help drastically change and save lives, it inspires many others to do the same. I will also be covering some of the literature he has written as well as some of the controversy that he has faced. He has written many books, his most famous being Animal Liberations, which is “the Bible” of the animal rights movement. Some of the controversy he has faced has come from his altruistic views. This has led to riots and protests. One point of controversy came when his mother was diagnosed with late stage Alzheimer's and instead of sticking to his beliefs, he took care of her. Which wouldn’t normally be a point of controversy unless you are Peter Singer and have spoken out against this exact action.

    Discussion questions:

    Do you think he was morally obligated to turn his back on his mother due to his teachings, or do you think he was morally obligated to help her because that is his mother and no one else can help her?

    Do you believe that a human that has a disability has less of a right to live than an able bodied person?

    Do you believe that not helping a struggling person you’ve never met is the same as walking past a struggling person on the street?

    What makes humans more special and more entitled to rights than other animals?

    Recommended texts and videos:

    Animal Liberation - Peter Singer

    PHILOSOPHY - Utilitarianism - Peter Singer

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/1999/nov/06/weekend.kevintoolis

    Peter Singer: The why and how of effective altruism

    https://www.vox.com/2015/6/18/8802755/peter-singer



    ReplyDelete
  2. What makes humans more special and more entitled to rights than other animals?

    Humans have the potential to better the world and society by handing thoughts and opinions to the next generation. Animals do not have the same potential.

    ReplyDelete