Peter Singer is regarded by many as the world's most influential living philopher. His writings have helped inspire a shift in the way humanity understands morality within the dynamics of the modern world. Singer's work has been foundational for the emergence of the modern animal rights movement; his ideas about our ethical obligation to help others in extreme poverty have helped birth a social movement known as effective altruism, where people seek out the most effective ways to help others.
Peter Singer speaks to The InnerView about the moral and ethical dilemmas facing humanity today, from extreme poverty to artificial intelligence, discussing the role we as individuals can play in addressing them.
00:00 Meet Peter Singer
01:41 What is a moral crisis?
03:00 On collective responsibility
03:54 Animal rights
04:54 Personal choices
05:56 How to be altruistic and compassionate effectively?
08:10 On supporting refugees
09:51 Altruistic behavior during wartime
10:50 Utilitarianism
12:11 Effective altruism movement
14:14 Nazism, Bolshevism and Communism
15:38 On fear that his views might result in an inflexible ideological approach
16:01 The fall of FTX
16:51 Sam Bankman-Fried
17:52 Has the FTX scandal damaged Singer’s movement?
18:24 Bioengineering and AI
20:31 Is it right to kill a hundred thousand people to save 10 million?
22:55 On AI making decisions for humans
24:07 Has Peter changed his mind about anything in the last 30-40 years?
25:58 Reducing suffering or maximising the survival of the human species?