Animal Liberation

Animal Liberation

Summary

How should we treat non-human animals? In this immensely powerful and influential book (now with a new introduction by Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari), the renowned moral philosopher Peter Singer addresses this simple question with trenchant, dispassionate reasoning. Accompanied by the disturbing evidence of factory farms and laboratories, his answers triggered the birth of the animal rights movement.

'An extraordinary book which has had extraordinary effects... Widely known as the bible of the animal liberation movement' Independent on Sunday

In the decades since this landmark classic first appeared, some public attitudes to animals may have changed but our continued abuse of animals in factory farms and as tools for research shows that the underlying ideas Singer exposes as ethically indefensible are still dominating the way we treat animals. As Yuval Harari’s brilliantly argued introduction makes clear, this book is as relevant now as the day it was written.

Reviews

  • In my mind, it is one the most important books of the last 100 years. It expands our moral horizons beyond our own species and is thereby a major evolution in ethics
    Peter Tatchell, Ecologist

About the author

Peter Singer

Peter Singer has been called the most influential philosopher alive. He is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and has published numerous books, including The Life You Can Save (2009), The Most Good You Can Do (2015) and Ethics in the Real World (2016). He became well known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975 and has been a leading thinker and campaigner in the field of animal rights ever since. Animal Liberation was included in TIME Magazine's list of 100 Best Nonfiction Books published since 1923. In 2012 Singer was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, his country's highest civilian honour, and in 2021 he was awarded the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture.
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