[Online] Author to speak about book on presidential ethics
By Joyce Tang
March 10, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Peter Singer didn’t plan for it, but his new book,
“The President of Good & Evil: The Ethics of George W.
Bush,” just happens to be published in an election year.
The well-known ethicist and currently the DeCamp Professor at
Princeton’s University Center for Human Values is discussing
his latest book today on campus today.
In his book, Singer examines Bush’s statements and actions
from an ethics approach. He says there is a lack of in-depth ethics
analysis on Bush’s policies, and cites that as the motivation
for his book.
“The president talked a big deal about ethics and what
strikes me is that this wasn’t getting a lot of critical
look. Some people would dismiss him and others would think he was
sound, thinking that he was a character of good morals,”
Singer said.
Ethics is the study of good and bad, right or wrong and what
people should do, said Calvin Normore, a philosophy professor.
“I’m asking what (Bush) is actually saying ““
what are the ethics he’s putting forward and are they
consistent across a series of issues,” Singer added.
Issues examined in his book range from stem cell research, the
death penalty, the war in Iraq, tax cuts and global
warming.Â
Singer started researching Bush’s ethics because of the
hotly-debated issue of stem cell research in August 2001, but he
didn’t expand the work into a book until a year later.
The book was published this Monday. As a part of his book tour,
Singer was invited by the UCLA International Institute to speak on
campus.
At Princeton, given his outspoken views, Singer’s
appointment as a tenured professor was expected to be
“greeted with a mixture of accolades and controversy,”
according to the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.
“(Singer) has controversial views about people’s
rights and the beginning and the end of life. He sometimes believes
(in the case) that infants who are subject to have severe
disabilities and have extreme pain, in some circumstances, it might
be morally permissible to end their life,” said Stephen
Macedo, director of the Princeton University Center for Human
Values.
“Singer, of course, is very famous in his work in applied
ethics ““ utilitarianism. He’s become quite famous for
pressing the consequences of these (medical and scientific lab)
policies,” Normore said.
Singer’s most critical work is in bioethics. He has
authored several books, including “Practical Ethics”
and “Animal Liberation,” which sold thousands of copies
and was translated into multiple languages.
“I see bioethics as a discussion of ethical issues raised
by the biological and medical sciences. It’s obvious there
have been a lot of new developments in the field “¦ and they
have raised new questions,” Singer said.
His new book, though more directly political than his previous
work, doesn’t completely deviate from his bioethic
concerns.
In his area of study, Singer gives a large focus to human
reproduction. When he first started to whet his knowledge in the
field, in-vitro fertilization was the hot button issue of the time.
Now, the professor is examining the use of stem cell research and
the selection of embryos.
Singer is also interested in the ethics of death ““
questioning whether people should be allowed to decide to take a
patient off life support or if doctors are sanctioned to do so.
Singer hopes his new book will reach as wide an audience as
possible, especially considering this is election year.
“I would hope that people would think about these issues
before they vote “¦ I think everybody’s interested in
the nature of the president,” Singer said.
Peter Singer will speak in the second floor lounge of
Ackerman Union today at UCLA from 3:30-5 p.m. The event is free and
open to public.
