euro|topics - Peter Singer

06/09/2008

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Singer, Peter

Peter Singer is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and the author of Practical Ethics www.project-syndicate.org

2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Cyprus Mail - Cyprus | 29/04/2008

Peter Singer looks for moral progress

In a column for Project Syndicate, Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University, ponders whether humanity can be said to be making moral progress in the light of the succession of atrocities perpetrated in recent decades. "There is more to the question than extreme cases of moral breakdown. ... In response to the crimes committed during World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sought to establish the principle that everyone is entitled to the same basic rights, irrespective of race, color, sex, language, religion, or other status. So, perhaps we can judge moral progress by asking how well we have done in combating racism and sexism. ... Recent polls by WorldPublicOpinion.org shed some indirect light on this question. ... Overall, it seems likely that these opinions reflect real changes, and thus are signs of moral progress toward a world in which people are not denied rights on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex."

The Guardian - United Kingdom | 31/08/2007

The idolisation of Princess Diana

Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University, comments on the tenth anniversary of Princess Diana's death. "The media is filled with tributes and retrospectives, and all over the world the public seems to be avidly soaking it up. Has Diana become a new kind of saint ... ? ... From a rational perspective, this idolisation of Diana is as absurd as any cult. Granted, she used her prominence to promote worthwhile causes. She championed the sick and marginalised, and her work for a ban on landmines, while sometimes ridiculed as politically naive, drew worldwide attention to the issue. ... After her death, tens of millions grieved and many sent money to her memorial fund, which has a website called Theworkcontinues.org. But if the work does continue, it is on a more modest scale that has settled into the background of public charitable work. ... perhaps those who identified so strongly with Diana imagined that they shared in her good deeds, and that they need not do anything more."

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