• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
  • Blog
  • Book
singularityweblog-create-the-future-logo-thumb
  • Podcast
  • Speaker
  • Contact
  • About
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Podcast
  • Speaker
  • Contact

peter singer

Philosopher Peter Singer on AI, Transhumanism and Ethics

June 1, 2018 by Socrates

https://media.blubrry.com/singularity/p/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/452266545-singularity1on1-peter-singer.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

photo courtesy of Leif Tuxen

Peter Singer is arguably the most influential living philosopher of our day. His book on Animal Liberation basically started the animal rights movement and his textbook on Practical Ethics is the standard philosophy text of first-year students. No wonder that in 2005 Time Magazine called Peter Singer one of the 100 most influential people in the world. And so for me, personally, having Professor Peter Singer on Singularity.FM was a dream come true.

During our 1-hour conversation with Peter Singer we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: ethics and philosophy; why he is not an animal lover; why he is a flexible vegan; 3D printed meat; Peter’s personal mentors and inspirations; transhumanism and human nature; his biggest dreams and fears; why I went vegan; his greatest ethical failure; Ayn Rand and objectivism; climate change, instinct and evolution; intelligence and ethics; whether life-extension is moral; AI and the technological singularity; technology and ethics.

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation or become a patron on Patreon.

Who is Peter Singer?

Peter Singer may be, as The New Yorker calls him, the planet’s “most influential living philosopher.” The Australian academic specializes in applied ethics, to which he takes a secular, utilitarian approach — minimize suffering, maximize well-being. He gained recognition in the 1970s with his groundbreaking book Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for Our Treatment of Animals, which questions society’s tendency to put human needs above those of members of other species. And he draws fire from critics who object to his fascinating argument in favor of an obligation to help the global poor that sets the bar so high that it means we are almost all living unethically. His defense of euthanasia and infanticide, in some circumstances, has led to protests against his lectures and to his teaching position at Princeton.

But Singer’s collective body of work is more acclaimed than controversial. He has written the classic text Practical Ethics and many other books, with more in progress. He lectures at Princeton, where he is a professor of bioethics, and the University of Melbourne, where he is a laureate professor. You can find dozens of brief, brilliant essays at Project Syndicate, where Singer examines the philosophical questions surrounding current topics like Obamacare, computer piracy, and obesity.

Filed Under: Podcasts Tagged With: ethics, peter singer

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Joscha Bach on AI, Cosmology, Existence and the Bible
  • The Cassandra of Futurism Faith Popcorn: Futurism Doesn’t Come from the Past
  • Kendall Haven on Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story
  • Brian Boyd on the Origin of Stories
  • John Smart: Foresight is Your Hidden Superpower

Categories

  • Articles
  • Best Of
  • Featured
  • Featured Podcasts
  • Funny
  • Gadgets
  • Lists
  • Music
  • News
  • Op Ed
  • Podcasts
  • Profiles
  • Reviews
  • ReWriting the Human Story
  • Survey
  • Tips
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • What if?

Join SingularityWeblog

Over 4,000 super smart people have subscribed to my newsletter in order to:

Discover the Trends

See the full spectrum of dangers and opportunities in a future of endless possibilities.

Discover the Tools

Locate the tools and resources you need to create a better future, a better business, and a better you.

Discover the People

Identify the major change agents creating the future. Hear their dreams and their fears.

Discover Yourself

Get inspired. Give birth to your own ideas. Create the future. Live long and prosper.

singularity-logo-2

Sign up for my weekly newsletter.

Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
You must accept the Terms and Conditions.
Get Started!

Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.
  • Home
  • About
  • Start
  • Blog
  • Book
  • Podcast
  • Speaker
  • Donate
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Ethos: “Technology is the How, not the Why or What. So you can have the best possible How but if you mess up your Why or What you will do more damage than good. That is why technology is not enough.” Nikola Danaylov

Copyright © 2009-2022 Singularity Weblog. All Rights Reserved | Terms | Disclosure | Privacy Policy