Peter Singer: Practical Ethics, Cambridge University Press, 2011 (Third Edition), 411 pp.

For over 30 years Peter Singer’s Practical Ethics has been the classic introduction to applied ethics. The book is packed with detailed social, medical, and economic information and has been translated into many languages.

Until it gets to the point when a society is unsustainable due to reasons like racial tension or ecological damage, then a nation is obliged to admit refugees- Lee Ann Montanaro

Unlike many texts, it has an impressive appendix of notes and references to further reading. It is clearly written, in both style and structure, and very accessible because it is divided into sections which allow you to pick and choose the topics you wish to read about.

Since the first (1979) and second (1993) editions of Practical Ethics, Singer has revised all the existing chapters and added another one addressing climate change in this third edition.

The focus of the book is the application of ethics to difficult and controversial social questions. It challenges us to question our innate responses and any emotions that are ingrained in us because of biology or society.

Practical Ethics shows us that it takes courage to reason ethically, and to recognise the moral transgressions we have all committed in ignorance.

Singer presents us with a large range of rich telling examples in a manner which makes the text extremely readable but still very thought-provoking. This is because Practical Ethics makes you question, and defend or reject, what is often taken for granted.

One also gets a sense of how interconnected many issues confronting the human community are. The book is structured to show how contemporary controversies often have deep philosophical roots while presenting and applying ethical theories of his own.

Singer starts his book by giving a clear understanding of ethics, and this sets the stage for the remainder of the book.

We then see how although the end of World War II has seen some dramatic changes in society’s moral attitudes on issues like abortion, euthanasia, sex outside marriage, same-sex relationships and suicide, they still remain controversial, with traditional views still having their respected defenders.

As Singer tells us, the changes may have been great but no new consensus has been reached. While some people are highly sensitive to issues of justice and ethics, others only have a limited awareness of such principles.

Singer demonstrates how it is commonly assumed that issues about humans should always take precedence over issues about animals. He examines general principles about the value of life.

In several of his chapters, Singer looks at the arduous topic of taking life in relation to animals, abortion and euthanasia.

He speaks of those who believe there is nothing wrong with killing animals that do not have a self-conscious and are ‘replaceable’, and those who feel that in cases of extreme disability it is natural and humane to kill the infant in order to prevent both the child and parents from suffering.

In his book, Singer argues how a nation’s immigration policy should be based on the interests of all affected, and until it gets to the point when a society is unsustainable due to reasons like racial tension or ecological damage, then it is obliged to admit refugees. A society’s interests in luxury does not outweigh refugees’ interests in a decent standard of living. Rich countries allowing people from poorer countries to die is murder.

Many of the questions discussed in Practical Ethics concern our daily lives: equality and discrimination on the grounds of race or sex; the use of embryos for research; political violence and terrorism. This shows us how Singer bravely dares to follow his reasoning into unconventional places. He assesses his relevant arguments in a non-doctrinaire manner.

Therefore, he can not only think carefully through matters of ethics in a theoretical way but is also able to apply that theory to the real world and then explain it all in a language that anyone who has no previous experience with philosophy can understand.