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Quote by Peter Singer

“If we compare a severely defective human infant with a nonhuman animal, a dog or a pig, for example, we will often find the nonhuman to have superior capacities, both actual and potential, for rationality, self-consciousness, communication and anything else that can plausibly be considered morally significant.”

Quote by Peter Singer

Author

Peter Singer (born July 6, 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher renowned for his work in applied ethics, particularly animal liberation, effective altruism, and global poverty. He is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University and author of 'Animal Liberation,' a foundational text of the animal rights movement. Singer argues for extending moral consideration to all sentient beings based on utilitarian principles. His controversial views have sparked global debates but profoundly influenced contemporary ethics, charity practices, and animal welfare policies. more

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“As we realize that more and more things have global impact, I think we're going to get people increasingly wanting to get away from a purely national interest.”

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“Ancient recipients of instant news probably couldn't do very much about it, for instance. Xerxes would still need three months to get his army together, and he might not get home for years.”

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“Christianity is our foe. If animal rights is to succeed, we must destroy the Judeo-Christian religious tradition.”

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“Surely there will be some nonhuman animals whose lives, by any standards, are more valuable than the lives of some humans.”

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Book:Animal liberation: a new ethics for our treatment of animals

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“My view is different from this, only to the extent that if a decision is taken, by the parents and doctors, that it is better that a baby should die, I believe it should be possible to carry out that decision, not only by withholding or withdrawing life-support - which can lead to the baby dying slowly from dehydration or from an infection - but also by taking active steps to end the baby's life swiftly and humanely.”

Ifs Should Believe Different Ends Dies I Believe Parent Decision Views Steps Support Taken Dying Baby Doctors Active Infection Withholding Withdrawing Dehydration Dying Slowly

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“Becoming a vegan is a sure way of completely avoiding participation in the abuse of farmed animals. Vegans are a living demonstration of the fact that we do not need to exploit animals for food.”

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Book:The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter

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“Suppose I grant that pigs and dogs are self-aware to some degree, and do have thoughts about things in the future. That would provide some reason for thinking it intrinsically wrong to kill them - not absolutely wrong, but perhaps quite a serious wrong. Still, there are other animals - chickens maybe, or fish - who can feel pain but don't have any self-awareness or capacity for thinking about the future. For those animals, you haven't given me any reason why painless killing would be wrong, if other animals take their place and lead an equally good life.”

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“Of course, infanticide needs to be strictly legally controlled and rare - but it should not be ruled out, any more than abortion.”

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Author:Peter Singer