When philosopher Peter Singer was appointed Ira DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University it set off a firestorm of protest in the University’s mock tutor precincts that is only just abating.
Singer has courted controversy throughout his professional career by arguing for viewpoints that when summarized seem incredible – animal rights, the voluntary donation of any income you earn over 30,000 dollars to the world’s poor, and the killing of severely deformed infants.
The latter view led the Archbishop of Melbourne to dub Peter Singer “Herod’s Propaganda minister.” The headline grabbing nature of those views obscures the fact that Peter Singer is a true professional philosopher an acknowledged scholar of Utilitarianism, a man who sees himself as applying the theories of John Stuart Mill to contemporary ethical problems.
Difficult issues rigorously analyzed – Ethicist Peter Singer in this hour.
(Hosted by Michael Goldfarb)
Guests:
Peter Singer, philosopher.