Skip to main content
Access provided by

Peter Singer

Peter Singer

Writing for PS since 2001
237 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Peter Singer, Founder of the nonprofit organization The Life You Can Save, is Emeritus Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. His books include Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), Rethinking Life and Death, The Point of View of the Universe, co-authored with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, The Most Good You Can Do, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, One World Now, Ethics in the Real World, Why Vegan?, and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction, also with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek. In April 2021, W.W. Norton published his new edition of Apuleius’s The Golden Ass. In 2013, he was named the world's third "most influential contemporary thinker" by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. He is a co-author (with Shih Chao-Hwei) of The Buddhist and the Ethicist (Shambhala Publications, 2023).

Sort by: Show:
  1. Protesting Ethically
    singer235_DAVID CANTINIAUXAFPTVAFP via Getty Images_mona lisa DAVID CANTINIAUX/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

    Protesting Ethically

    Sep 3, 2024 Peter Singer & Martin Skladany apply four tests of proportionality to nonviolent demonstrations in democratic societies.

  2. Will We Survive the Next 100 Years?
    singer234_Westend61_worldbreaking Westend61/Getty Images

    Will We Survive the Next 100 Years?

    Aug 7, 2024 Peter Singer urges governments to treat existential risks to our species with the seriousness they deserve.

  3. Will Biden Spoil It All?
    singer233_ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDSAFP via Getty Images_biden ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

    Will Biden Spoil It All?

    Jul 2, 2024 Peter Singer thinks the US president should step aside, or, like other one-time heroes, risk tarnishing his legacy.

  4. Organ Donation Can Save Donors’ Lives, Too
    singer232_Leon NealAFP via Getty Images_organdonation Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images

    Organ Donation Can Save Donors’ Lives, Too

    Jun 19, 2024 Peter Singer shows why a recipient of a new liver or kidney is not necessarily the only one who benefits.

  5. When Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?
    singer231_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_college protests Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    When Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?

    May 9, 2024 Peter Singer rejects comparisons of the recent US campus protests to the actions of Nazi student groups in the 1930s.

Follow Peter Singer

Never miss a commentary by Peter Singer

  1. aghion8Getty Images_innovation iStock / Getty Images Plus
    0

    Can Europe Create an Innovation Economy?

    Philippe Aghion, et al. explain what EU member states must do to stop falling further behind the United States economically.
  2. krueger52_FREDERIC J. BROWNAFP via Getty Images_shipping port us FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Trump’s Proposed Tariffs Are a Gift to the Rich

    Simon Johnson cites research showing that middle-class US households would foot the bill.
  3. imweber7_Dave ReedeDesign Pics EditorialUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_grain storage Dave Reede/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
    0

    Building a Buffer Against Food-Price Shocks

    Isabella M. Weber, et al. urge Brazil and South Africa, as successive G20 presidents, to devise a new stabilization playbook.
  4. benami215_IBRAHIM HAMSAFP via Getty Images_gazawar Ibrahim Hams/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    Nothing New on the Middle Eastern Front

    Slavoj Žižek sees developments in the year since October 7, 2023, as the logical realization of long-standing potentialities.
  5. james222_Win McNameeGetty Images)_debate Win McNamee/Getty Images)
    0

    Trump’s Tariffs Are an Opportunity for Harris

    Harold James urges the Democratic presidential candidate to reject the new consensus against free trade.
  6. milani6_MENAHEM KAHANAAFP via Getty Images_israeliranmissiles Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    A Dangerous Dance for Israel and Iran

    Abbas Milani sees both countries walking a tightrope to maintain deterrence without provoking a full-blown war.
  7. haldar38_ERNESTO BENAVIDESAFP via Getty Images)_fujimori ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)
    0

    The Bloody Path of Alberto Fujimori’s Neoliberalism

    Antara Haldar assesses the former Peruvian president’s legacy of free-market reform and death-squad dictatorship.
  8. benami218_JALAA MAREYAFP via Getty Images_lebanon israel iran JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    The Middle East’s Deadly Dream Palaces

    Shlomo Ben-Ami traces the delusions of Arab, Iranian, and Israeli leaders that have kept the region mired in violence.
  9. op_sonin1_ILYA PITALEVSPUTNIKAFP via Getty Images_russiamilitaryproduction Ilya Pitalev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
    3

    Making Sense of Russia’s War Economy

    Konstantin Sonin

    Despite the apparent resilience of Russia's economy, Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war against Ukraine comes at a high economic cost. Not only does it require today’s Russians to live a worse life than they otherwise would have done; it also condemns future generations to the same.

     explains the apparent resilience of growth and employment in the face of increasingly tight sanctions.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.