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Philosophize This!

Episode #208 ... The moral evolution of a philosopher. (Peter Singer)

Aug 18, 2024
In this discussion with Peter Singer, a leading philosopher in ethics, listeners explore his evolving views on morality. He reflects on the transition from emotivist hedonistic utilitarianism to a belief in objective morality. The conversation dives into Hume's emphasis on emotions over objective truths and critiques of hedonistic ethics. Singer also shares insights on preference utilitarianism, advocating for individual preferences to enhance well-being, while stressing the importance of empathy and rationality in moral judgments.
44:18

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Peter Singer's early ethical views blended emotivism and hedonistic utilitarianism, emphasizing pleasure maximization and emotional expressions in moral judgments.
  • Influenced by critiques like Nozick's Experience Machine, Singer evolved towards preference utilitarianism, addressing concerns about traditional utilitarianism's potential paternalism.

Deep dives

Peter Singer's Early Ethical Views

At the start of his career, Peter Singer adopted a sophisticated but unconventional stance on ethics as an emotivist hedonistic utilitarian, reflecting both normative and meta-ethical dimensions. His normative ethical position emphasized the maximization of pleasure and minimization of pain for the greatest number, rooted in hedonism. Simultaneously, his meta-ethical view suggested that moral statements merely express emotional states rather than objective truths, indicating a belief that moral claims do not point to universal moral facts. This duality of perspectives positioned Singer uniquely within the early discourse on morality, as he grappled with the implications of his emotions in ethical discussions.

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