Examined Life (2008)

Peter Singer: Self

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• Peter Singer : I think ethics has to come from ourselves, but that doesn't mean that it's totally subjective, that doesn't mean that you can think whatever you like about what's right or wrong. When you start to look at issues ethically, you have to do more than just think about your own interests, you have to ask yourself how do I take into account the interests of others? What would I choose if I were to be in their position rather than my position?

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  Peter Singer : One of the most obvious things that emerges when you put yourself in the position of others is the priority of reducing or preventing suffering because ethics is not just about what I actually do and the impact of that, but it's also about what I omit to do, what I decide not to do. And that's why questions about, given that we all have a limited amount of money, questions about what you spend your money on are also questions about what you don't spend your money on, or what you don't use your money to achieve. And, a lot of people, I think, forget that, they think, well, you know, I'm not harming anyone if I go and spend a thousand dollars on a new suit but, in fact, given the opportunities that we have to help and given the way that the world is, I think quite often you're actually failing to benefit someone, which you could be doing. And I think we have moral obligations to help just as we have moral obligations not to harm.