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Unsanctifying Human Life: Essays on Ethics
Unsanctifying Human Life offers a collection of Singer's best and most challenging articles from 1971 to the present. The book includes early critiques of various approaches to philosophy and the role of philosophers, followed by controversial works on the moral status of animals, infanticide, euthanasia, the allocation of scarce health care resources, embryo experimentation, environmental responsibility, and reflections on how we should live.
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First published November 26, 2001
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About the author
Peter Singer
186 books11k followersPeter Singer is sometimes called "the world’s most influential living philosopher" although he thinks that if that is true, it doesn't say much for all the other living philosophers around today. He has also been called the father (or grandfather?) of the modern animal rights movement, even though he doesn't base his philosophical views on rights, either for humans or for animals.
In 2005 Time magazine named Singer one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute ranked him 3rd among Global Thought Leaders for 2013. (He has since slipped to 36th.) He is known especially for his work on the ethics of our treatment of animals, for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life doctrine in bioethics, and for his writings on the obligations of the affluent to aid those living in extreme poverty.
Singer first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2011 Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” list of the 100 best nonfiction books published in English since the magazine began, in 1923. Singer has written, co-authored, edited or co-edited more than 50 books, including Practical Ethics; The Expanding Circle; How Are We to Live?, Rethinking Life and Death, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), The Point of View of the Universe (with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek), The Most Good You Can Do, Ethics in the Real World and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction. His works have appeared in more than 30 languages.
Singer’s book The Life You Can Save, first published in 2009, led him to found a non-profit organization of the same name. In 2019, Singer got back the rights to the book and granted them to the organization, enabling it to make the eBook and audiobook versions available free from its website, www.thelifeyoucansave.org.
Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. After teaching in England, the United States and Australia, he has, since 1999, been Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. He is married, with three daughters and four grandchildren. His recreations include hiking and surfing. In 2012 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest civic honour.
In 2005 Time magazine named Singer one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute ranked him 3rd among Global Thought Leaders for 2013. (He has since slipped to 36th.) He is known especially for his work on the ethics of our treatment of animals, for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life doctrine in bioethics, and for his writings on the obligations of the affluent to aid those living in extreme poverty.
Singer first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2011 Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” list of the 100 best nonfiction books published in English since the magazine began, in 1923. Singer has written, co-authored, edited or co-edited more than 50 books, including Practical Ethics; The Expanding Circle; How Are We to Live?, Rethinking Life and Death, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), The Point of View of the Universe (with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek), The Most Good You Can Do, Ethics in the Real World and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction. His works have appeared in more than 30 languages.
Singer’s book The Life You Can Save, first published in 2009, led him to found a non-profit organization of the same name. In 2019, Singer got back the rights to the book and granted them to the organization, enabling it to make the eBook and audiobook versions available free from its website, www.thelifeyoucansave.org.
Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. After teaching in England, the United States and Australia, he has, since 1999, been Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. He is married, with three daughters and four grandchildren. His recreations include hiking and surfing. In 2012 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest civic honour.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 9, 2025
Singer aborda las premisas más fundamentales que consituyen los pilares de nuestro imaginario moral para luego, de forma arborescente, desencadenar una serie de procesos analíticos que describen de forma imparcial estas consignas, estableciendo su definición, sus causas y sus consecuencias, así como sus alternativas y contrapartidas.
Sus razonamientos son increíblemente agudos y perspicaces; y complejos, pero convertidos en accesibles por su capacidad expresiva. El grado de profundización descriptiva y el descenso al detalle último proporcionan una indiscutible solidez a sus argumentos. Este flujo de exposición resulta especialmente útil a la hora de constatar y comprobar conclusiones, haciendo evidentes muchas de las contradicciones y carencias que afectan a la moralidad tradicional.
Uno de los aspectos más llamativos para mí es la crítica por exposición y no por acción explícita del autor: los hechos, por sí mismos, obligan al lector a posicionarse casi de forma inevitable. Otro es el hecho de que trate temas delicados sin ningún tipo de censura o restricción.
La perspectiva animalista es tan demoledora como necesaria, así como el capítulo centrado en la perspectiva medioambiental. Igualmente interesante la parte sobre la filosofía de Hegel y su aplicación como fundamento del marxismo.
Una obra necesaria para recordarnos la urgencia de la acción reflexiva en vistas de una sociedad más equitativa y la del retorno constante al cuestionamiento de verdades absolutas, tanto individuales como colectivas.
Sus razonamientos son increíblemente agudos y perspicaces; y complejos, pero convertidos en accesibles por su capacidad expresiva. El grado de profundización descriptiva y el descenso al detalle último proporcionan una indiscutible solidez a sus argumentos. Este flujo de exposición resulta especialmente útil a la hora de constatar y comprobar conclusiones, haciendo evidentes muchas de las contradicciones y carencias que afectan a la moralidad tradicional.
Uno de los aspectos más llamativos para mí es la crítica por exposición y no por acción explícita del autor: los hechos, por sí mismos, obligan al lector a posicionarse casi de forma inevitable. Otro es el hecho de que trate temas delicados sin ningún tipo de censura o restricción.
La perspectiva animalista es tan demoledora como necesaria, así como el capítulo centrado en la perspectiva medioambiental. Igualmente interesante la parte sobre la filosofía de Hegel y su aplicación como fundamento del marxismo.
Una obra necesaria para recordarnos la urgencia de la acción reflexiva en vistas de una sociedad más equitativa y la del retorno constante al cuestionamiento de verdades absolutas, tanto individuales como colectivas.
January 12, 2008
Whether or not you agree with Singer on many of his key points (the ethical status of animals, cells, or infants, for example), you have to admit: he knows how to make one hell of an argument.
This book contains some of his more classic essays on animal liberation with newer pieces handling topics including in vitro fertilization, abortion, and global poverty.
This book contains some of his more classic essays on animal liberation with newer pieces handling topics including in vitro fertilization, abortion, and global poverty.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews