Peter Singer and Redeeming Characteristics

Marta Russell ap888 at lafn.org
Tue Mar 13 13:34:38 PST 2001


We had a lengthy discussion of Singer on this list. It's in the archives. You'll see a lengthy discussion of Singer's position on disability. He does attribute a negative value to disabled lives.

Marta

Kendall Clark wrote:
>
> LBOers,
>
> I puzzled over Doug's comment re: Peter Singer yesterday, and finally
> just asked him what he meant. Apparently some on this list are of the
> opinion that Peter Singer advocates a view that may be summed by
> saying, as Doug did, "some people just don't deserve to live any
> more".
>
> This is such a patent absurdity that it really should be
> addressed. That's not remotely Singer's position. And it's hard to see
> how anyone, having first read charitably any of Singer's many essays
> or books, could attribute that position to him, absent malice or
> ideological motivation.
>
> I suggest a reading of the first 100 pages or so of Singer's
> <cite>Practical Ethics</cite> if you're genuinely interested in
> understanding his views. I grant that he doesn't always write in a way
> that prevents misreading, but few philosophers do, and most of them
> write far less clearly than Singer.
>
> For what it's worth, I'm neither a utilitarian, nor particularly keen
> on all of Singer, but I have taught philosophy, his work, and remain
> enough of an academic to think that what he actually *says* ought to
> matter when coming to some evaluation of his work.
>
> I'd be happy to discuss details of Singer's work, either on this list
> when appropriate, (pretty often, since as a laborer in the fields of
> applied ethics, he's often making political or quasi-political
> claims), or in another forum when appropriate.
>
> Best,
> Kendall Clark
> --
> There's no such thing as magic, only science and jazz.

-- Marta Russell author, Los Angeles, CA http://disweb.org/ Beyond Ramps: Disability at the End of the Social Contract http://www.commoncouragepress.com/russell_ramps.html



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