Peter Singer

Peter Singer

27 quotes

Peter Singer (b. 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher who left an enduring mark on the world through both deeds and words. Their thinking spans from Freedom to Business, revealing a mind that refused to stay in one lane. Our collection holds 33 quotes from Peter Singer, each offering a different angle on Freedom, Business, Politics, Money, and Home. One standout: "In most of the world, it is accepted that if animals are to be killed for food, they should be killed without suffering."

“I honestly don't know, but if America continues to refuse to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, I see a bleak future not only for American society, but for the world as a whole. This is a global problem that is not going away, and the United States is an obstacle to solving it.”

— Peter Singer

Future

All Quotes by Peter Singer

“You might hold an ethical position that it's wrong to lie, but if you have plans for a war in Iraq, and you want to keep them secret for practical reasons - to reduce casualties, perhaps - and someone asks you about those plans, you may need to lie for a 'good' outcome.”

— Peter Singer

War

“When fish experience something that would cause other animals physical pain, they behave in ways suggestive of pain, and the change in behaviour may last several hours.”

— Peter Singer

Change

“I don't think nationalism is alone holding the field it's in contention with a lot of different things.”

— Peter Singer

Alone

“Bush sees the evil as out there in the wider world, residing in people who 'hate freedom'. Look at his immediate response to the pictures of prisoner abuse this is not what Americans do, these are not our values.”

— Peter Singer

Freedom

“The new freedom of expression brought by the Internet goes far beyond politics. People relate to each other in new ways, posing questions about how we should respond to people when all that we know about them is what we have learned through a medium that permits all kinds of anonymity and deception.”

— Peter Singer

Freedom

“Business ethics has always had problems that are distinct from those of other professions, such as medicine, law, engineering, dentistry, or nursing.”

— Peter Singer

Business

“Interest in business ethics courses has surged, and student activities at leading business schools are more focused than ever before on making business serve long-term social values.”

— Peter Singer

Business

“We have a new generation of very rich people who want to do more with their money than buy a lot of expensive toys. They want to live meaningful lives.”

— Peter Singer

Money

“It's also much clearer how much damage the occupation of Iraq is doing to America's reputation and prestige around the world and that's just starting now to hit home in the United States.”

— Peter Singer

Home

“Every profession will have its rogues, of course, no matter what oaths are sworn, but many health care professionals have a real commitment to serving the best interests of their clients.”

— Peter Singer

Health

“Do business managers have a commitment to anything more than the success of their company and to making money? It would be hard to say that they do. Indeed, many business leaders deny that there is any conflict between self-interest and the interests of all.”

— Peter Singer

Business

“So, basically, my view is I don't want to support the exploitation of animals, and within reason, I will do what I can to avoid it, but it's not like it's a religion for me. It's not like I consider I'm polluted if somehow some bit of milk or cheese or something passes my lips.”

— Peter Singer

Religion

“That's a central part of philosophy, of ethics. What do I owe to strangers? What do I owe to my family? What is it to live a good life? Those are questions which we face as individuals.”

— Peter Singer

Family

“What is faith? If you believe something because you have evidence for it, or rational argument, that is not faith. So faith seems to be believing something despite the absence of evidence or rational argument for it.”

— Peter Singer

Faith

“We need to recognise that what really matters isn't buying more and more consumer goods, but family, friends, and knowing that we are doing something worthwhile with our lives. Helping to reduce the appalling consequences of world poverty should be part of that reassessment.”

— Peter Singer

Family

“I don't understand the notion that modern farming is anything do to with nature. It's a pretty gross interference with nature.”

— Peter Singer

Nature

“I honestly don't know, but if America continues to refuse to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, I see a bleak future not only for American society, but for the world as a whole. This is a global problem that is not going away, and the United States is an obstacle to solving it.”

— Peter Singer

Future

“I'm not overly alarmist about it, but I do think there are some worrying signs, like the growing accumulation of wealth by a very small proportion of the population, plus elections in the US are much more dominated by money than anywhere else calling itself a democracy.”

— Peter Singer

Money

“The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information, or restrict Internet access to the ruling elite and turn your back on the 21st century, as North Korea has done.”

— Peter Singer

Hope

“Bush is morally a universalist. For instance, he says the freedom is good, the same thing is good, all over the world. So in that sense he's a universalist.”

— Peter Singer

Freedom