Peter Singer Quotes on Knowledge
Peter Singer is an Australian moral philosopher and the most widely read utilitarian writer of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This page collects quotes attributed to Peter Singer on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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“I am a utilitarian. I am also a vegetarian. I am a vegetarian because I am a utilitarian.”
Utilitarianism and Vegetarianism, Philosophy & Public Affairs , 9(4): 325 (1980). -
“Utilitarianism and Vegetarianism, Philosophy & Public Affairs , 9(4): 325 (1980).”
I am a utilitarian. I am also a vegetarian. I am a vegetarian because I am a utilitarian. -
“To be honest, I was somewhat disappointed... It's had effects around the margins, of course, but they have mostly been minor. When I wrote it, I really thought the book would change the world. I know it sounds a little grand now, but at the time the sixties still existed for us. It looked as if real changes were possible, and I let myself believe that this would be one of them. All you have to do is walk around the corner to McDonald's to see how successful I have been.”
Quoted by Michael Specter on the impact of the book Animal Liberation , " The Dangerous Philosopher ", The New Yorker , 6 September 1999. -
“Peter Singer - The Genius of Darwin: The Uncut Interviews - Richard Dawkins , 2009.”
Speciesism is an attitude of prejudice towards beings because they're not members of our species, so just as racism means that you're prejudiced against beings who are not members of your race and sexism means you're prejudiced against people of the other sex. So we humans tend to be speciesist in we think that any being that is a member of the species homo sapien just automatically has a higher m -
“Last Generation': A Response , The New York Times , June 16, 2010.”
Philosophy is not politics, and we do our best, within our all-too-human limitations, to seek the truth, not to score points against opponents. There is little satisfaction in gaining an easy triumph over a weak opponent while ignoring better arguments against your views.