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Peter Singer

Peter Singer

Writing for PS since 2001
235 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Peter Singer, Founder of the nonprofit organization The Life You Can Save, has recently retired from his position as 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 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. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Will Cambridge Support Free Speech?
    singer230_View PicturesPeter CookUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_cambridge View Pictures/Peter Cook/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    Will Cambridge Support Free Speech?

    Apr 12, 2024 Peter Singer examines the university’s ongoing case against Nathan Cofnas, a research fellow who advocates “race realism.”

  5. Does Religious Freedom Trump Animal Welfare?
    singer229_ Mustafa YalcinAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_echr Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Does Religious Freedom Trump Animal Welfare?

    Mar 14, 2024 Peter Singer assesses the European Court of Human Rights’ recent ruling on Belgian legislation regarding how meat may be produced.

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    In Praise of First-Past-the-Post

    Andrés Velasco explains why Britain’s electoral system is better than all the plausible alternatives.
  2. slaughter105_JACK GUEZAFP via Getty Images_womenwagepeace Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

    Peacebuilding in the Middle East Requires Women

    Anne-Marie Slaughter & Xanthe Scharff argue that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians must no longer be the province of men.
  3. varoufakis117_JULIEN DE ROSAAFP via Getty Images_macron JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    Macron and Europe’s Centrists Are Out of Good Options

    Yanis Varoufakis shows that an intractable economic conundrum lies behind the current impasse in French politics.
  4. quesada3_ Lokman Vural ElibolAnadolu via Getty Images_immigration Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Immigration Does Not Start at the US Border

    Carlos Alvarado-Quesada laments the failure of Republicans and Democrats alike to address the root causes of migration.
  5. landau4_Getty Images_AI money Getty Images/Anton Petrus

    Will AI Kill Off Money?

    Jean-Pierre Landau considers some of the underappreciated implications of an economy run entirely by machines.
  6. op_krauze1_Fine Art ImagesHeritage ImagesGetty Images_spinoza Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

    A Philosopher for Our Times

    Enrique Krauze shows that, given rising illiberalism, the seventeenth-century thinker Baruch Spinoza is as relevant as ever.
  7. snower8_Getty Images Getty Images

    A New Worldview for Troubled Times

    Dennis J. Snower proposes four principles to guide policymaking and global negotiations in the age of climate change.
  8. moyo29_Carl CourtGetty Images_FTSE Carl Court/Getty Images

    Navigating Today’s Frothy Financial Markets

    Dambisa Moyo offers a basic framework for assessing the risk of new bubbles and their potential spillover effects.
  9. asadullah16_ MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images_bangladesh MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images

    An Arab Spring for Bangladesh?

    M. Niaz Asadullah argues that young protestors could help the country chart a democratic course and achieve sustainable growth.

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