The Utilitarian Case for a Free Contest of Ideas

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You help to found something called the journal of controversial ideas. Some of your pheces have proven to be very controversial, including some of your views about the morality of abortion and the killing of young babies. What is the utilitarian case for creating a culture in which ideas thad seem abhorrent to many can be stated openly and publicly without fear? I think that choice was made by the nineteenth century utilitarian john stuart mill in his work on liberty.

Peter Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, is one of the most influential philosophers of the past fifty years. A leading exponent of utilitarianism, he has often explored how individuals can improve the lot of those in need with their own choices.

In this week’s conversation, Peter Singer and Yascha Mounk discuss what utilitarianism gets right, whether the effective altruism movement is effective, and why freedom of inquiry is crucial to improving the world.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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