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Peter Singer

Peter Singer

Writing for PS since 2001
242 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Peter Singer, Emeritus Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the National University of Singapore, is co-host of the podcast Lives Well Lived, co-founder of the charity The Life You Can Save. His books include Consider the Turkey, Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), Rethinking Life and Death, The Point of View of the Universe, co-authored with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, The Most Good You Can Do, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, One World Now, Ethics in the Real WorldWhy Vegan?, and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction, also with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek. In April 2021, W.W. Norton published his new edition of Apuleius’s The Golden Ass. In 2013, he was named the world's third "most influential contemporary thinker" by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. He is a co-author (with Shih Chao-Hwei) of The Buddhist and the Ethicist (Shambhala Publications, 2023).

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  1. Are We Responsible for Our Choices?
    singer240_GuyerwoodGettyImages_railroad_switch Guyerwood/Getty Images

    Are We Responsible for Our Choices?

    Mar 10, 2025 Peter Singer identifies a common flaw shared by deterministic theories of human behavior.

  2. “America First” in Action
    singer239_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_americafirst Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    “America First” in Action

    Feb 6, 2025 Peter Singer assesses the damage Donald Trump has already done to long-term US interests since returning to the White House.

  3. Australia’s Great Social-Media Experiment
    singer238_Matt CardyGettyImages_teens_on_phones Matt Cardy/Getty Images

    Australia’s Great Social-Media Experiment

    Jan 6, 2025 Peter Singer assesses the merits of new legislation requiring users to be at least 16 years old.

  4. Choice in Dying Comes to the UK
    singer237_Carl CourtGettyImages_pro_euthanasia_protest_london Carl Court/Getty Images

    Choice in Dying Comes to the UK

    Dec 6, 2024 Peter Singer welcomes the approval of a bill that promises to empower terminally ill patients in England and Wales.

  5. What Progressives Must Learn from Trump’s Campaign
    singer236_ohn SenterUCGUniversal Images Group via Getty Images)_trump harris ads John Senter/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    What Progressives Must Learn from Trump’s Campaign

    Nov 14, 2024 Peter Singer thinks one of the most important lessons is to uphold open debate and address hot-button issues head-on.

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  1. davutoglu1_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpzelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Trump’s Old World Order

    Ahmet Davutoğlu warns that the US administration’s reckless conduct may destroy the last vestiges of multilateral cooperation.
  2. op_janeway19_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trumpmusk Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    Crippling America’s Innovation Economy

    William H. Janeway

    Donald Trump and Elon Musk's reign of disruption is crippling research universities’ ability to serve as productive partners in innovation, thus threatening the very system that they purport to celebrate. The Chinese, who are increasingly becoming frontier innovators in their own right, will be forever grateful.

    warns that the pillars of US dynamism and competitiveness are being systematically toppled.
  3. muzikarova8_NurPhotoGettyImages_chip_manufacturing NurPhoto/Getty Images

    America’s AI Iron Curtain

    Soňa Muzikárová explains how US export controls are harming allies and potentially helping Russia and China.
  4. hubbard5_SpencerPlattGettyImages_bessent_economic_club_of_new_york Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    What Rebalancing the US Economy Really Requires

    Glenn Hubbard

    US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s defense of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as a step toward “rebalancing” the US economy misses the point. While some economies, like China and Germany, need to increase domestic spending, the US needs to increase national saving.

    thinks US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is neglecting the need for spending cuts in major federal programs.
  5. rasoolayub1_Alex WongGettyImages_voa_building Alex Wong/Getty Images

    America’s Voice No Longer Speaks for Democracy

    Heela Rasool-Ayub explains why authoritarians worldwide are celebrating Donald Trump’s renunciation of democratic advocacy.
  6. durostu1_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfire Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    Insurers Must Embrace Geospatial AI

    Pierre du Rostu touts the technology’s benefits for an industry that must shift its focus from paying claims to managing risk.
  7. gelfand4_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_trump_gesture Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
    Free to read

    It’s Time to Abandon Trump’s Flawed Negotiation Playbook

    Michele Gelfand points out that the best dealmakers strive for win-win outcomes, not zero-sum Pyrrhic victories.
  8. bajraktari3_NICOLAS TUCATAFP via Getty Images_fusionreactor Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

    America’s Last Chance to Lead in Fusion Energy

    Ylli Bajraktari warns that China's domination of the sector would give it massive economic and geopolitical leverage.
  9. rogoff260_ STRAFP via Getty Images_chinarealestate STR/AFP via Getty Images

    China Can’t Spend Its Way Out of Trouble

    Kenneth Rogoff argues that the country’s problems can be traced back to its response to the 2008 financial crisis.

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