Is There a Tension Between Philosophy and Politics?

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I imagine you think of yourself primarily as a philosopher, but you do also want to have an impact on the world. You can have moments in which you feel that pursuing an intellectual argument to its logical conclusion can somehow empower the people or complicate the case for practical action. So i guess how do you think about the potential of these different conceptions to come into tension with each other? And what advice would you give to young generations of scholars that want to be politically engaged, but that also want to put their pursuit of truth above everything else? I agree that there is that tension. I don't feel it in myself that much, maybe because i'm fairly senior in my career. But if there

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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