From: zeb haradon (zebharadon@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Feb 18 2001 - 12:36:46 MST
>From: "Technotranscendence" <neptune@mars.superlink.net>
>
>BTW, has anyone here read any of Peter Singer's works? He's the big animal
>rights philosopher. I read his _How Are We To Live?_ several years ago and
>found it wanting. He assumes a cleavage between being moral and being
>happy -- doing what you ought to do as opposed to doing what you want to
>do.
>His basic view of morality is as a collection of duties, however
>systematically grouped together they might be. (I wrote to him on the
>subject before he came to Princeton, but got a form letter reply.:)
>
I have not read any of his works but I've read interviews with him and
articles about him. Although he is big on animal rights, he thinks it's ok
to euthanize deformed children. Is this an inconsistency, or is it correct
to assume that he finds more value in a rat then in a month-old child?
(you can find a million different sites on this, here's one:
"http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/2900/psai.html" )
A general inconsistency in the beliefs of animal-rights people is that if
you ask them how they feel about abortion, the majority will be very
pro-choice. I think a human fetus and a salmon are probably comparable in
mental ability and think people should be allowed to kill either one for
convenience.
Singer also believes that if you live above a certain income - 30K I think -
without giving away the excess, you are morally responsible for the deaths
of people in third world countries who you didn't give that money to. I read
this a while ago and cannot find a link for it.
---------------------------------------------------
Zeb Haradon (zebharadon@hotmail.com)
My personal webpage:
http://www.inconnect.com/~zharadon/ubunix
A movie I'm directing:
http://www.elevatormovie.com
"What is this, some Three Stooges episode where everyone is armed with pies?
Bill Gates is supposed to walk through the airport with an armful of pies
so that he can stoop to the level of his attackers?" -Chris Russo
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