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Peter Singer

Peter Singer

Writing for PS since 2001
241 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Peter Singer, Emeritus Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore, is co-host of the podcast Lives Well Lived, Co-founder of the charity The Life You Can Save. His books include Consider the Turkey, 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 WorldWhy 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).

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  1. “America First” in Action
    singer239_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_americafirst Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    “America First” in Action

    Feb 6, 2025 Peter Singer assesses the damage Donald Trump has already done to long-term US interests since returning to the White House.

  2. Australia’s Great Social-Media Experiment
    singer238_Matt CardyGettyImages_teens_on_phones Matt Cardy/Getty Images

    Australia’s Great Social-Media Experiment

    Jan 6, 2025 Peter Singer assesses the merits of new legislation requiring users to be at least 16 years old.

  3. Choice in Dying Comes to the UK
    singer237_Carl CourtGettyImages_pro_euthanasia_protest_london Carl Court/Getty Images

    Choice in Dying Comes to the UK

    Dec 6, 2024 Peter Singer welcomes the approval of a bill that promises to empower terminally ill patients in England and Wales.

  4. What Progressives Must Learn from Trump’s Campaign
    singer236_ohn SenterUCGUniversal Images Group via Getty Images)_trump harris ads John Senter/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    What Progressives Must Learn from Trump’s Campaign

    Nov 14, 2024 Peter Singer thinks one of the most important lessons is to uphold open debate and address hot-button issues head-on.

  5. 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.

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  1. tbunde7_Johannes SimonGetty Images_vance Johannes Simon/Getty Images

    A Westless World

    Tobias Bunde reflects on this year's Munich Security Conference and America's break from the transatlantic alliance.
  2. broning14_Maja HitijGetty Images_merz Maja Hitij/Getty Images

    Germany’s Last-Chance Election

    Michael Bröning

    With German voters clearly demanding comprehensive change, the far right has been capitalizing on the public's discontent and benefiting from broader global political trends. If the country's democratic parties cannot deliver, they may soon find that they are no longer the mainstream.

    explains why the outcome may decide whether the political “firewall” against the far right can hold.
  3. popescu6_ZinchenkoGlobal Images Ukraine via Getty Images)_ukrainepeace Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

    The Only Path to Genuine Peace in Ukraine

    Nicu Popescu

    The Russian and (now) American vision of "peace" in Ukraine would be no peace at all. The immediate task for Europe is not only to navigate Donald’s Trump unilateral pursuit of a settlement, but also to ensure that any deal does not increase the likelihood of an even wider war.

    sees a Korea-style armistice with security guarantees as the only viable option in Ukraine.
  4. asakawa3_PoolGettyImages_hindu_kush_glacial_melt Pool/Getty Images

    Meltdown at the Top of the World

    Masatsugu Asakawa urges development banks to act urgently to avert the catastrophic effects of the Himalayas’ thawing glaciers.
  5. frieda19_AnadoluGettyImages_russia_us_peace_talks Anadolu/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Trump’s Ukrainian Peace

    Gene Frieda

    Rather than engage in lengthy discussions to pry concessions from Russia, US President Donald Trump seems committed to giving the Kremlin whatever it wants to end the Ukraine war. But rewarding the aggressor and punishing the victim would amount to setting the stage for the next war.

    warns that by punishing the victim, the US is setting up Europe for another war.
  6. oneill128in McNameeGetty Images_trump Win McNamee/Getty Images

    There Goes America

    Within his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy and launched an all-out assault on the country’s constitutional order. With US institutions bowing or buckling as the administration takes executive power to unprecedented extremes, the establishment of an authoritarian regime cannot be ruled out.

  7. op_janeway18_DrAfter123Getty Images_AI DrAfter123/Getty Images

    In AI We Trust?

    William H. Janeway

    The rapid advance of AI might create the illusion that we have created a form of algorithmic intelligence capable of understanding us as deeply as we understand one another. But these systems will always lack the essential qualities of human intelligence.

    explains why even cutting-edge innovations are not immune to the world’s inherent unpredictability.
  8. strain36_Michael M. SantiagoGettyImages_ny_stock_exchange Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    How Trump Can Achieve Sustained Growth

    Michael R. Strain foresees the US president building on a strong economy, so long as he steers clear of populist policies.
  9. schwarzer9_Telmo PintoSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_macronstarmer Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Europe Alone

    Daniela Schwarzer explains what the European Union must do now that America has walked away from the transatlantic relationship.

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