93 books
—
22 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Practical Ethics” as Want to Read:
Practical Ethics
by
Peter Singer's remarkably clear and comprehensive Practical Ethics has become a classic introduction to applied ethics since its publication in 1979 and has been translated into many languages. For this second edition the author has revised all the existing chapters, added two new ones, and updated the bibliography. He has also added an appendix describing some of the deep
...more
Paperback, 411 pages
Published
January 29th 1993
by Cambridge University Press
(first published 1979)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Practical Ethics,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Practical Ethics
Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
Practical Ethics is one of those books that authors cite all the time, but which I had never actually read**. In terms of discussing personal ethics in a humanist framework, there's nothing better than this book. Singer goes through the issues so clearly and yet conversationally, and also thoroughly addresses criticisms of and weaknesses in his arguments.
However I was unprepared for Singer appearing to be in favour of euthanizing babies with Down syndrome and Myelomeningocele (spina bifida) (pp ...more
However I was unprepared for Singer appearing to be in favour of euthanizing babies with Down syndrome and Myelomeningocele (spina bifida) (pp ...more
Practical Ethics was recommended to me by my ethics professor. She claimed that the book was the reason she became a vegetarian.
Reading this book will be an eye-opening experience for many. The discussions tackle the biggest questions facing ethics. At what point should we consider a fetus a human being? What is the value of one human life compared to another? Why worry about saving the environment?
A highlight of the text is that Singer starts with a simple question or example which you will i ...more
Reading this book will be an eye-opening experience for many. The discussions tackle the biggest questions facing ethics. At what point should we consider a fetus a human being? What is the value of one human life compared to another? Why worry about saving the environment?
A highlight of the text is that Singer starts with a simple question or example which you will i ...more
Of course this book is far from impartial. But it offer good and scrupulous arguments for his choices.
The book is written in a very dry and unhelpfully, boring manner. Yet the content of the book is far from boring.
I'm not going to write more on this review, my dog is barking at me to take him for a walk.
The book is written in a very dry and unhelpfully, boring manner. Yet the content of the book is far from boring.
I'm not going to write more on this review, my dog is barking at me to take him for a walk.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Read down in Savannah back in 2002; I picked up an archival copy back in 2004. Lots of good thinking here, but Singer's *way* too quick to consider something "conclusively demonstrated." I found his animal rights doctrine a particularly grotesque pill to swallow, and his arguments regarding abortion rather slipshod reasoning (although not so much as the roe v wade decision itself) -- I'm staunchly pro-choice, but certainly not due to Singer-style arguments. For that matter, the 700,000 Americans
...more
Peter Singer's Practical Ethics is a very considerate book. Singer's writings about equality, the ethical treatment of animals, and ending world poverty are best, it seems to me. I will reframe Singer's positions regarding these, not exactly as Singer put them, but being as charitable as possible as to what he was arguing for. Singer argues that among the varieties of conceptions of equality, we should choose equality of interests of persons (self-conscious rational creatures) and anything capab
...more
Interesting, not that I agree with all of it. Pretty easy to read, thankfully, and clear.
Edit on reread: I can understand why this book gets some pretty extreme reactions, now I've read it straight through like this. His view of ethics builds up throughout the book, too, so if you don't read all of it, if you read some of it out of context, then he sounds pretty awful.
It also should, if you're properly thinking about it, make you wonder why our society -- globally -- is the way it is, if we clai ...more
Edit on reread: I can understand why this book gets some pretty extreme reactions, now I've read it straight through like this. His view of ethics builds up throughout the book, too, so if you don't read all of it, if you read some of it out of context, then he sounds pretty awful.
It also should, if you're properly thinking about it, make you wonder why our society -- globally -- is the way it is, if we clai ...more
In Practical Ethics Peter Singer (a moral philosopher and professor of bioethics at Princeton University) puts forth the idea of a utilitarian system of ethics based on an “equal considerations of interests”. To quote Singer:
The essence of the principle of equal consideration of interests is that we give equal weight in our moral deliberations to the like interests of all those affected by our actions. This means that if only X and Y would be affected by a possible act, and if X stands to lose m ...more
The essence of the principle of equal consideration of interests is that we give equal weight in our moral deliberations to the like interests of all those affected by our actions. This means that if only X and Y would be affected by a possible act, and if X stands to lose m ...more
Sep 30, 2016
Vladyslav Sitalo
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone :)
Shelves:
ethics,
non-fiction,
philosophy,
science,
favorites,
utilitarianism,
consequentialism,
altruism,
poverty,
euthanasia
I wanted to Practical Ethics for some time now. It's not exactly the light read, but if you decide to take it in your hands you will find yourself in a possession of a small treasure.
The sharp reasoning and clear language of the author will lead you on an intellectual journey where you will think through the variety of topics (e.g. abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, animal suffering, poverty, global warming, environment and ethics itself) and quite possibly will change your position on some of ...more
The sharp reasoning and clear language of the author will lead you on an intellectual journey where you will think through the variety of topics (e.g. abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, animal suffering, poverty, global warming, environment and ethics itself) and quite possibly will change your position on some of ...more
Practical Ethics is the one book I know that can, without fail start a heated argument in any company. You just open to any page read a paragraph out loud. Instant debate.
Peter Singer makes a habit of bait-and-switching the reader. Starting with what (usually) sound like simple, easy to agree with axioms he builds up easy to follow example. Then proceeds to explain why, if you agree with the example, which most people do, you have agreed to something that most people would find unacceptable.
Usin ...more
Peter Singer makes a habit of bait-and-switching the reader. Starting with what (usually) sound like simple, easy to agree with axioms he builds up easy to follow example. Then proceeds to explain why, if you agree with the example, which most people do, you have agreed to something that most people would find unacceptable.
Usin ...more
Since I am not Utilitarian, I disagreed with Singer far more than I agreed. This is not a problem though because it was a good introduction to some views that otherwise would have been alien to my understanding. His more extreme views should not be discounted out of hand, but must be taken seriously and answered appropriately. Among these are his views on animal rights and the treatment of the mentally deficient and infants. He speaks a great deal against Speciesism, but seems to practice his ow
...more
"Praktische Ethik" ist ein Standardwerk in der ethischen Lehre. Peter Singer behandelt ausführlich die Grundfragen, welche sich beim Thema Moral und Ethik stellen. Dank der leicht verständlichen Schreibweise, ist das Buch auch für Einsteiger und nicht Gelehrte geeignet. Grundsätzlich dies die Auseinandersetzung mit diesen Gedanken ein Muss für jeden Menschen, der sein Leben besser verstehen und führen möchte.
Somit spricht eigentlich nichts gegen das Buch, das hier von mir auch empfohlen wird. Wa ...more
Somit spricht eigentlich nichts gegen das Buch, das hier von mir auch empfohlen wird. Wa ...more
Apr 21, 2015
Erin McNally
added it
I haven't read this book. I was going to but thankfully Peter himself told me not to. Instead Peter said we should be boycotting this thing that calls himself a philosopher when really he is just spewing bullshit. I understand 90% of the comments about this book was pre April 2015 so no one knew. But this "man" this "thing" preaches Ethics but then says disabled babies should be killed to save on the cost of health insurance. How is this "Ethical"? Oh the irony. I would LOVE to wake up one morni
...more
I liked the chapter "Why Act Morally?" the best. It delved into some interesting but unresolved problems of the foundations of ethics, discussing the tension between self-interest and universality, and the difficult example of happy psychopaths. However, his tentative conclusion that the justification for ethics is that it makes you happier isn't entirely convincing. How odd that the branch of philosophy that's among the closest to our daily experience, ethics, is an area that's still in a surpr
...more
Finally finished this book. Took me a while to get through because I was initially only interested in a few chapters. I think this is the kind of book that you can get by with reading only the chapters you're interested in. His views are very consistent and he explains them quite well, although I think that he could be a lot more succinct. I suspect that it is as lengthy as it is because he has a lot of critics and need to take slower, more careful steps in his phrasing.
I bought this book while in college for 50 cents. I still refer to it. For any person wanting a primer into ethics, this book is a good start. Singer lays out clearly ethical scenarios and possible solutions.
Interesting and challenging book. I don't agree with many of his conclusions but he has put a lot of time into creating a strong argument for his views.
This is the kind of "humanist" BS that you are likely to find everyday on Facebook.
This book made me a vegetarian. Do I need to say more?
This is a great philosophy book that offers a philosophical standpoint for many contemporary issues like abortion, euthanasia, or climate change. Here are my reading notes.
# A Base For Ethics
In order to talk about ethics, the author adopts a broadly utilitarian outlook. Any ethical judgement is about factoring in more than personal preferences. Basing an ethical judgment on self-interest is not what we mean by ethical. Ethics require factoring in the interests of all involved.
This factoring in m ...more
# A Base For Ethics
In order to talk about ethics, the author adopts a broadly utilitarian outlook. Any ethical judgement is about factoring in more than personal preferences. Basing an ethical judgment on self-interest is not what we mean by ethical. Ethics require factoring in the interests of all involved.
This factoring in m ...more
Ethik vom Kopf auf die Füße gestellt
Ich möchte mir gar nicht anmaßen, mit den folgenden Bemerkungen eine wirklich erschöpfende Bewertung des Konzeptes ethischen Handelns, das von Singer in seiner „Praktischen Ethik“ vorgestellt wird, abzugeben, doch finde ich sein Gedankengerüst gleichzeitig so faszinierend und abstoßend, dass ich einige Überlegungen dazu anstellen möchte.
In der Ethik geht es zwar um „moralisch“ richtiges Handeln, aber dennoch sind in diesem Zusammenhang Etikette wie „gut“ und „ ...more
Ich möchte mir gar nicht anmaßen, mit den folgenden Bemerkungen eine wirklich erschöpfende Bewertung des Konzeptes ethischen Handelns, das von Singer in seiner „Praktischen Ethik“ vorgestellt wird, abzugeben, doch finde ich sein Gedankengerüst gleichzeitig so faszinierend und abstoßend, dass ich einige Überlegungen dazu anstellen möchte.
In der Ethik geht es zwar um „moralisch“ richtiges Handeln, aber dennoch sind in diesem Zusammenhang Etikette wie „gut“ und „ ...more
Most people who talk about Peter Singer have not read him, and a lot of the people who have read him, did not read him closely enough.
As is the case with many theories on eating and using animals, Singer's is not absolute. He says that, although he generally opposes meat-eating, that it would not be wrong to painlessly kill and eat a healthy chicken that is not self-aware, has no family or friends that could from its death and that could not have been raised at all if was not going to be slaugh ...more
As is the case with many theories on eating and using animals, Singer's is not absolute. He says that, although he generally opposes meat-eating, that it would not be wrong to painlessly kill and eat a healthy chicken that is not self-aware, has no family or friends that could from its death and that could not have been raised at all if was not going to be slaugh ...more
What a treat. This cogent book offers the reader a glimpse of the working of the mind of a first class philosopher. The premise is that preference utilitarianism (or hedonistic utilitarianism) is valid. This will lead to conclusions that are not quite (or yet) conventional. A great part of the book is devoted to debunking speciesism. It also covers several economic and environmental issues. The book should not be treated as a manisfesto to be devoured unquestioningly. Indeed, its chapter on meta
...more
This is a nice book on the ethical questions we encounter in day to day life. By and large author has dealt with the issues from all the sides, except poverty where he misses on the chain of producers to consumers - how reducing rich people reducing the consumption is going to affect poor people involved in producing that good (in the sweat shops in the third world).
Also I feel that the number of issues dealt with are less and there could be few more important ethical issues from day to day lif ...more
Also I feel that the number of issues dealt with are less and there could be few more important ethical issues from day to day lif ...more
An essential introduction not just to ulitarianism (using preference ulitarianism) but to modern ethics in general.
The version I read was the first edition which covered ethics related to killing concious beings, and the issue of poverty. Singer's views are easy to digest and he openly discusses criticisms of his views while offering defences against these.
Very readable, and very interesting (and very short!).
The version I read was the first edition which covered ethics related to killing concious beings, and the issue of poverty. Singer's views are easy to digest and he openly discusses criticisms of his views while offering defences against these.
Very readable, and very interesting (and very short!).
Bazı kısımları anlaması biraz zor ama genel olarak tüm konuları halkın anlayabileceği basitlikte anlatmış.
Değişik bakış açıları katıyor insana. Boş vaktiniz varsa okuyun derim ama çok hızlı biten bir kitap değil.
Değişik bakış açıları katıyor insana. Boş vaktiniz varsa okuyun derim ama çok hızlı biten bir kitap değil.
I had been wanting to read this book for a long time, and now finally did it. It is really thorough, and well-argued. I agree with most of it, although this sometimes feels uncomfortable as some conclusions are quite difficult.
Bazı kitaplar çabuk okunamaz,Peter Singer de pek çok felsefeci ve kitapları gibi geri dönüşlerle okunmalı.Ancak bence günümüzde uygulanabilecek ,erdemli bir yolda yürürken bize yol gösterecek,güzel bir kitap yazmış.
Peter Singer iyi ki var diyorum.
Peter Singer iyi ki var diyorum.
An interesting utilitarian analysis of a diverse range of relevant moral issues.
I'm not really a utilitarian, actually I'm not at all one. Singer makes valid points, though I'm not completely sold.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), University of Melbourne. He specializes in applied ethics, approaching ethical issues from a secular preference utilitarian perspective.
He has served, on two occasions, as chair of phil ...more
More about Peter Singer
He has served, on two occasions, as chair of phil ...more
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not caviar or truffles, but beef, pork and poultry. Some 38 percent of the world's grain crop is now fed to animals, as well as large quantities of soybeans. There are three times as many domestic animals on this planet as there are human beings. The combined weight of the world's 1.28 billion cattle alone exceeds that of the human population. While we look darkly at the number of babies being born in poorer parts of the world, we ignore the over-population of farm animals, to which we ourselves contribute...[t]hat, however, is only part of the damage done by the animals we deliberately breed. The energy intensive factory farming methods of the industrialised nations are responsible for the consumption of huge amounts of fossil fuels. Chemical fertilizers, used to grow the feed crops for cattle in feedlots and pigs and chickens kept indoors in sheds, produce nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas. Then there is the loss of forests. Everywhere, forest-dwellers, both human and non-human, can be pushed out. Since 1960, 25 percent of the forests of Central America have been cleared for cattle. Once cleared, the poor soils will support grazing for a few years; then the graziers must move on. Shrub takes over the abandoned pasture, but the forest does not return. When the forests are cleared so the cattle can graze, billions of tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Finally, the world's cattle are thought to produce about 20 percent of the methane released into the atmosphere, and methane traps twenty-five times as much heat from the sun as carbon dioxide. Factory farm manure also produces methane because, unlike manured dropped naturally in the fields, it dies not decompose in the presence of oxygen. All of this amounts to a compelling reason...for a plant based diet.”
—
39 likes
“To give preference to the life of a being simply because that being is a member of our species would put us in the same position as racists who give preference to those who are members of their race.”
—
38 likes
More quotes…
