Peter Singer

1. 1972The drowning child

   In the essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" he argues that if we can prevent something very bad without giving up anything of comparable importance, we ought to do it. The example of a child drowning in a pond makes the point: distance does not change our duty.

   Article 1972 · Famine, Affluence and Morality,…2
2. 1975Animal Liberation

   Singer argues, following Bentham, that the ability to suffer, not intelligence, is what gives a being moral standing. He draws the practical conclusion that a vegetarian or vegan diet is the best response.

   Wikipédia 2026 · Animal Liberation (book)
3. 2009The Life You Can Save

   He publishes The Life You Can Save, which leads to the founding of an organisation of the same name that encourages giving to help the global poor.

   Wikipédia 2026 · Peter Singer
4. 2014 Change of mindBecoming a moral realist

   With Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek he publishes The Point of View of the Universe. He announces that he is now a hedonistic utilitarian and that he accepts objective moral truths, after holding preference utilitarianism and Hare's view.

   Wikipédia 2026 · Peter Singer2
5. 2018Explaining the change

   In a podcast interview he explains the shift. Parfit's work and Sidgwick's self-evident axioms convinced him, and he argues that the agreement of many ethical traditions on impartiality is not easily explained by evolution alone.

   Video 2018 · On Becoming a Moral Realist (AI…
6. 2022Factory farms first, wild animals later

   Asked about wild animal suffering, he says it deserves attention but is uncertain and hard to act on. He judges that the prolonged suffering of factory-farmed animals outweighs the briefer suffering of wild animals, so factory farming comes first.

   In their words

   « the prolonged suffering of factory farmed animals would outweigh the briefer suffering of wild animals »Judges that the prolonged suffering of factory-farmed animals outweighs the briefer suffering of wild animals, so factory farming is his priority. watch

   « i do think that they deserve our attention »Says wild animal suffering deserves attention but is uncertain and politically hard, since helping would mean interfering with ecosystems. watch

   « i don't think we can say confidently that we know that insects are capable of suffering »Says we cannot be confident that insects can suffer, though it is a serious possibility. watch

   Video 2022 · Debating Peter Singer on Wild…2
7. 2023Evil as the strongest argument against God

   In a Melbourne conversation with Richard Dawkins he calls the argument from evil the most powerful argument against God. He says the reply that suffering comes from Adam's sin is an appalling moral view, and that the free will defence cannot explain suffering in nature.

   In their words

   « to me the most powerful argument against the existence of God is the argument from Evil »Calls the argument from evil the most powerful argument against God, including the suffering found in nature. watch

   « I think that's just an appalling moral view even not only appalling moral it suggests you believe Adam ever existed »Rejects the reply that suffering comes from Adam's original sin as an appalling moral view. watch

   « the argument that Darwin imagines the devil's chaplain making is immune to that because it's not talking about the evil that humans using their Free Will are actually creating »Says the free will defence cannot answer suffering in nature, such as animals drowned in floods, which no human will causes. watch

   Video 2023 · A moral philosopher and an…
8. 2024"Non-natural objectivist"

   In a full interview titled "How I changed my mind about objective morality" he says he is an atheist and believes morality is objectively true, as mathematics is. He keeps the distinction between facts and values and disagrees with Sam Harris.

   In their words

   « I do consider myself an atheist and I am a believer in the objective truth of morality »Says he is an atheist and believes morality is objectively true. watch

   « I do consider myself an atheist »States plainly that he is an atheist. watch

   « just as you don't need believe in God to think that mathematics is objective »Argues that belief in God is not needed for morality to be objective, just as for mathematics or logic. watch

   Video 2024 · How I changed my mind about…2
9. 2025Chatbots, insects and the limits of sentience

   He says current chatbots only mimic conversation and there is no reason to think they are conscious, but he sees no reason in principle why a system made of silicon chips could not be. He is agnostic about some insects and gives them the benefit of the doubt.

   In their words

   « I think the capacity to suffer or feel pain is what is crucial »Agrees with Bentham that the capacity to suffer is what gives a being moral standing. watch

   « I think that shows that really, they too think that it's the capacity to suffer that matters »Argues that nobody would accept experiments on severely brain-damaged humans, which shows we all take the capacity to suffer as what matters, not reason or language. watch

   « we ought to apply the principle of equal consideration of similar interests »States that how we treat animals should follow equal consideration of similar interests, whatever the species. watch

   Video 2025 · Peter Singer: Animal suffering…2

The arguments 17

The site's arguments they defend or criticize, and why. Click a title to see the full argument.