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Peter Singer

Peter Singer

Writing for PS since 2001
233 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, is Founder of the nonprofit organization The Life You Can Save. 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. 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.

  2. 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.”

  3. 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.

  4. The Competitive Edge of Doing Good
    singer228_ humanitix

    The Competitive Edge of Doing Good

    Feb 8, 2024 Peter Singer explains why companies that donate 100% of their profits to effective charities often end up doing very well.

  5. Killing Innocents in Israel and Gaza
    singer227_MOHAMMED ABEDAFP via Getty Images_gaza Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

    Killing Innocents in Israel and Gaza

    Jan 5, 2024 Peter Singer says that while Israelis' desire for revenge for October 7 is not wrong, choosing to act on it is.

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  1. vaheesan2_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_gigworkersprotest Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    The Gig Economy vs. America’s Workers

    Sandeep Vaheesan warns that proposed ballot initiatives in Massachusetts would legalize exploitative employment practices.
  2. sherwin13_CURTIS MEANSPOOLAFP via Getty Images_repubicans trump trial CURTIS MEANS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    King Trump on Trial

    Richard K. Sherwin

    High-ranking Republican politicians have lately been turning up at Donald Trump’s New York City trial to demonstrate solidarity with the former president. But their attendance also serves a more alarming purpose: to validate Trump as a competing source of sovereign power, independent of the US Constitution and the rule of law.

    explains why a parade of Republican leaders have made appearances at the former president’s trial in New York.
  3. spence173_ Joe RaedleGetty Images_power Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Crunch Time for the Power Sector

    Michael Spence argues that developing flexible, stable, and resilient smart grids requires an expanded industrial policy.
  4. op_janeway16_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenchips Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    The Rise of Mesoeconomics

    William H. Janeway

    A growing body of literature focusing on the domain between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic has become increasingly relevant in a world beset by supply shocks. Armed with such insights, those designing industrial policies will have a better chance of achieving their overlapping economic- and national-security goals.

    details how a long-neglected field of economic study can be applied to today's most pressing policy challenges.
  5. strain27_Philipp von Ditfurthpicture alliance via Getty Images_AIeducation Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images

    What the AI Pessimists Are Missing

    Michael R. Strain points out that the technology will help to address many of the risks it creates.
  6. ito37_Spencer PlattGetty Images_columbiaprotests Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Innocent Bystanders of College Protests

    Takatoshi Ito laments that a radical minority can disrupt the lives of so many in the broader university community.
  7. lacamera1_Wang DongzhenXinhua via Getty Images_COP28 Wang Dongzhen/Xinhua via Getty Images

    Only Public-Private Cooperation Can Accelerate Decarbonization

    Francesco La Camera & Bruce Douglas explain how to translate political commitments into actual wind turbines and solar panels.
  8. haass167_ANATOLII STEPANOVAFP via Getty Images_ukrainesoldiers Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

    Defining Success in Ukraine

    Richard Haass calls for a shift to a defensive posture and efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire.
  9. aslund75_Pierre CromGetty Images_ukraineconflict Pierre Crom/Getty Images

    A Unified Western Strategy for Ukraine

    Anders Åslund proposes a maximalist approach to military aid to replace the current piecemeal injections of old weapons.

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