http://www.project-syndicate.org/series/the_ethics_of_life <p><em>Is human life really always sacred? Is Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection right – or left? Is charity a virtue or an obligation?</em></p> en 2012-02-10T06:00:42+01:00 webmaster@project-syndicate.org Peter Singer 1994-01-01T00:00:00+01:00 4 hourly http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer82/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer82/English>SINGER: Europe’s Ethical Eggs</a> On the first day of 2012, keeping hens in tiny battery cages became illegal throughout the EU – a major advance in animal welfare, and therefore, for Europe, a step towards becoming a more civilized and humane society. But why is Europe so far ahead of other countries in its concern for animals? Peter Singer 2012-01-12T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer81/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer81/English>SINGER: A Death of One’s Own</a> Last month, an expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada released a report on decision-making at the end of life. The report provides a strong argument for allowing doctors to help their patients to die, provided that the patients are competent and freely request such assistance. Peter Singer 2011-12-16T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer80/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer80/English>SINGER: Should We Ban Cigarettes?</a> Cigarettes are among the deadliest artifacts in human history, and kill more people every year than AIDS, Malaria, and traffic accidents combined. If we want to save lives and improve health, nothing else that is readily achievable would be as effective as banning their sale. Peter Singer 2011-11-11T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer79/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer79/English>SINGER: The Death Penalty – Again</a> The US state of Georgia recently executed a man who might well have been innocent. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the death penalty in the US is a product of a particular culture – perhaps not even American culture as a whole, but rather the culture of the American South, where 80% of all US executions take place. Peter Singer 2011-10-12T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer78/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer78/English>SINGER: Can We Increase Gross National Happiness?</a> The small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is known internationally for its policy of promoting “gross national happiness” instead of economic growth. But can happiness really be measured, and can people really agree on what increases it? Peter Singer 2011-09-13T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer77/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer77/English>SINGER: A Planet for All Apes</a> Two new movies released this month – one a science-fiction blockbuster, the other a revealing documentary – raise the issue of our relations with our closest non-human relatives, the great apes. Both dramatize insights and lessons that should not be ignored. Peter Singer 2011-08-09T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer76/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer76/English>SINGER: Moral Progress and Animal Welfare</a> Mahatma Gandhi acutely observed that “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Indeed, charting the progress of animal-welfare legislation around the world is an indication of moral progress more generally. Peter Singer 2011-07-13T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer75/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer75/English>SINGER: Does Anything Matter?</a> Can moral judgments be true or false, or is ethics, at bottom, a purely subjective matter, for individuals to choose, or perhaps relative to the culture of the society in which one lives? We might have just found out the answer. Peter Singer 2011-06-13T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer74/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer74/English>SINGER: When Prevention is Better than Relief</a> People donate hundreds of millions of dollars to help people after a disaster – even after a disaster in a wealthy country like Japan – but are unwilling to invest the same amount to save lives before a predictable disaster strikes. But we should be guided by the best estimates of the chance that prevention will save lives, and by the cost of saving those lives. Peter Singer 2011-05-12T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer73/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer73/English>SINGER: A Universal Library</a> Scholars have long dreamed of a universal library containing everything that has ever been written. Today, we can make not just books, but paintings, films, and music, available to anyone, anywhere, anytime – but we don't, owing to a copyright system skewed toward corporate interests. Peter Singer 2011-04-13T00:00:00+02:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer72/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer72/English>SINGER: Global Justice and Military Intervention</a> The UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose an arms embargo on Libya, urge member nations to freeze assets owned by the Qaddafi family, and refer the regime's violence to the International Criminal Court for possible prosecution of those responsible. But do these measures go far enough? Peter Singer 2011-03-01T00:00:00+01:00 http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer71/English <a href=http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/singer71/English>SINGER: Tiger Mothers or Elephant Mothers?</a> Yale Law Professor Amy Chua's recent paean to what she describes as the Chinese "tiger" style of mothering has stirred debate worldwide. But do we really want to live in a world of solitary tigers who have been rigorously trained to think only of themselves? Peter Singer 2011-02-11T00:00:00+01:00