Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement by Peter Singer (PDF)

Description

“A most important book that will change the way many of us look at animals—and, ultimately, at ourselves.” — Chicago TribuneSince its original publication in 1975, this groundbreaking work has awakened millions of people to the existence of “speciesism”—our systematic disregard of nonhuman animals—inspiring a worldwide movement to transform our attitudes to animals and eliminate the cruelty we inflict on them.In Animal Liberation, author Peter Singer exposes the chilling realities of today’s “factory farms” and product-testing procedures—destroying the spurious justifications behind them, and offering alternatives to what has become a profound environmental and social as well as moral issue. An important and persuasive appeal to conscience, fairness, decency, and justice, it is essential reading for the supporter and the skeptic alike.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Singer’s documentation is unrhetorical and unemotional, his arguments tight and formidable, for he bases his case on neither personal nor religious nor highly abstract philosophical principles, but on moral positions most of us already accept.” — New York Times Book Review“A most important book that will change the way many of us look at animals—and, ultimately, at ourselves.” — Chicago Tribune”This book is a must . . . not just for every animal lover but forevery civilized reader.” — Cleveland Amory”A most important and responsible work. Everyone ought to read it, and ponder deeply whether we do not need to change our view of the world and our responsibility toward its creatures.” — Richard Adams, author of Watership Down“This book can’t help but make you think twice about whether or not animals have rights. It is so lucid and smart and thoroughly researched, without a hint of hysteria. I couldn’t put it down.” — Rick Moody, author of The Ice Storm From the Back Cover Since its original publication in 1975, this groundbreaking work has awakened millions of people to the existence of “speciesism”—our systematic disregard of nonhuman animals—inspiring a worldwide movement to transform our attitudes to animals and eliminate the cruelty we inflict on them.In Animal Liberation, author Peter Singer exposes the chilling realities of today’s “factory farms” and product-testing procedures—destroying the spurious justifications behind them, and offering alternatives to what has become a profound environmental and social as well as moral issue. An important and persuasive appeal to conscience, fairness, decency, and justice, it is essential reading for the supporter and the skeptic alike. About the Author Peter Singer’s other books include Writings on an Ethical Life, Practical Ethics, and The Life You Can Save, among many others. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University’s Center for Human Values. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Great book. I am now a vegetarian because of this man. Even though some practices have changed since he wrote this book, it is mostly still factory farming out there.

⭐This is a classic text which should be read by all!

⭐Frankly, I had to throw this book away. I ordered it after reading about it in a New Yorker article about the senseless killing of songbirds for fun and food. I expected the book to be a philosophical take on the issue of animal cruelty, which has been something of a big concern for me for many years (pretty much since I become fully cognizant of the fact that poultry and beef didn’t grow on trees, and were not some abstract substances, but, at some point, none other than living, breathing, conscious creatures.) The book, however, offers very detailed and extremely disturbing descriptions of various forms of physical and emotional suffering that billions of animals are subjected to in the course of their very short and very miserable lives. The author depicts the practices of “personnel” (supposedly human) working in the food industry (its first link – the meat/dairy plants) and the scientific/laboratory research – which present the two most horrific forms of animal abuse. Speaking about the often used in a “cute” context term “guinea pigs,” lab animals are put through unthinkable suffering varying from living through the process of harsh chemicals being instilled in their eyes (rabbits) while they are restrained by special equipment that doesn’t allow for any type of movement, as the “scientist” diligently observes and records the damage the chemical does to the eye over the course of several days (the end result – destroyed pupil of the eye.) And let’s just leave it at that, it’s the mildest of the experiments sited by the author (and accomponied by several pictures of the above mentioned rabbit, its eyes and the equipment). I was only able to go a few pages into the chapter before I had to put this book aside due to the palpitations I felt in my chest. I stopped at the “humorous” description in a catalog of the laboratory animal equipment that left me grasping for words: it mentioned a restrictor for rats where “the only thing that will wiggle is the nose.” Next thing I did was throw the book away, especially that it also came with several disturbing photographs: I simply did not want to have this kind of “material” sitting in my book case. That said, if someone has thicker skin or can skip through the chapters that deal with the “underbelly” of the food industry and scientific progress (although the author argues with the notion that experimenting on animals actually entails that much of a progress) and onto the chapters that deal with how each individual can contribute to reducing the amount of suffering, this book can be more than a useful read. It could also be a good eye opener for those who still think that animals feel no emotion and so “their suffering is pretty devoid of anything conscious,” or that tender veal chops are too, well, tender to pass up on at a restaurant (hopefully their opinion will change after they find out what is done to baby calves before they become those tender delectables.) Animals do have the same pain receptors as humans, and they do feel fear and anxiety, and great psychological suffering.

⭐One of the twentieth century’s eminent philosophers, bioethicist Peter Singer’s magnum opus does not fail to impress (or disgust, depending on how you look at it). At once evocative and profound, ‘Animal Liberation’ is accessible to all, from the most robust analytic philosopher to the developing middle-school student. While it first appeared in 1975, the book remains no less prescient for the modern reader.The most important take-away for any reader of this work is the state of animal welfare within our world today — there is a clear and present problem with the anthroparchic perspective (A term not used by Singer within the book, this is the position that all value is derived from, through, and for human value) our society-as-a-whole takes toward other animals, through ambivalence, ignorance, or willful practice; as well as the natural world in general. Unfortunately, Singer takes a leaf from his predecessors’ book (i.e., John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham) vis-à-vis his attempt to ground his attack on ‘speciesism’ (the systematic oppression of other species, comparable to racism and sexism — Singer admits to this being an ugly word) in an epistemically unfoundable principle, namely the principle of utility (Singer is more in-line with Benthamite hedonistic utilitarianism in this regard, rather than Millian aretaic utilitarianism — it is aretaic insofar as he recognizes a distinction between higher and lower pleasures). Moreover, much of his work is rife with informal fallacies (i.e., question-begging epithets, etc. — this is one of the most frequent examples), which is to say that the structure of his arguments, while questionably valid in themselves, fail to account for the content and soundness of said arguments.It must be recalled that Singer’s book is of the popular sort, which entails his preference toward colorful and accessible language. This is laudable, and much needed; however, he does fall prey to his own tactic by setting up fallacious argumentation, both formal and informal. Nevertheless, ‘Animal Liberation’ stands as an influential and essential piece of the still growing literature surrounding the broad discipline of environmental ethics (e.g., animal ethics, land ethics, ecofeminism, etc.). This being the case, those facts which he has brought to light within the text are what ought to weigh heavily upon the mind.Much work is left to be done; indeed, it is ongoing. While Singer’s philosophical position and argumentation fail to impress, it remains nonetheless imperative that our society seriously question our motives and actions toward the world and other animals around us. ‘Animal Liberation’, understood in the appropriate light, is an ideal primer for introducing the problem, if not adequate solutions. I highly recommend this text for any and all who discern the same problematic as yet still present within our society.

⭐After watching “Earthlings” almost 2 years ago while I was browsing for videos on YouTube – it had changed my life completely, since that day. Those who read this book and would like to “see” more about factory farming and how we treat animals, should definitely check out “Earthlings” – it’s free online.I enjoy this book greatly. I am not going to discuss about the book because I believe there had already been many reviewers on here who did an excellent job on writing about it. I am really glad, however, that a modern philosopher, like Singer, took great interests in ending animals suffering and believe it firmly to write such an excellent book. It is really difficult personally, for me to “persuade” others to re-consider the way they consume meat daily. I took me almost 2 years to persuade my husband to watch “Earthings” because he, like many other people that I know of, said: “I don’t want to watch it….I like to eat meat and I like the freedom to choose whatever I want to eat….” I have heard this response many time from many people who will not change or reconsider the way they consume meat. The bottom line is, they only care about their individual “right”; to eat whatever they choose because they think they are entitled to. It is sad, but it also happens to the most dedicated, religious people whom I’ve known.My hope is for Singer and many other writers to continue to deliver this important message to the mass – ending animals suffering and to learn how to be a compassionate human being.

⭐(review of the 1995 edition)AUDIENCE: For a book written by an academic, it is remarkably accessible and jargon-free. Any person interaction with animals would do well to read this book. Animal professionals must read it as it is a classic in the animal rights literature.Style and contentsAt about 250 densely packed pages, you won’t be done in a couple of days, but it’s no War and Peace either.The book is divided into 2 chapters examining widespread abuses by the research and intensive farming industries. It also devotes a couple of chapters to the philosophical arguments supporting the equal consideration of animals. Finally, one chapter covers tips and views on vegetarianism.The gemsThe book in itself is a gem. It is THE classic in the animal rights’ literature and is on every animal rights and bioethics course reading list. These were some of the tidbits that I found particularly interesting: The chapters detailing the abuses of the research industry were shocking and depressing. Knowing what I know of ethics committees in the EU and UK protecting mammals at least (except rats and mice…), I think things have changed a lot there. Not enough, but a lot. Sadly, not much has changed in the intensive farming industry, where regulatory bodies are more committed to pleasing crowds than effective action. His chapter on animal research gave me pause, particularly the species-specific idiosyncracies that are discovered after the fact again and again. Take the fact that morphine is a neurostimulant for mice (it is a neurodepressant for us)! Countless products have been tested on animals and have been revealed, come human trial times, to have paradoxical effects in humans. The fact that promising animal models have to be taken lightly was not news to me, but the book opened my eyes to the horrifying scale of the problem. A ‘sad tale of futility’, as he calls it. His reviews of the futile psychology experiments also made for depressing reading: studies on maternal deprivation, stress, learned helplessness/experimentally induced neurosis are classics in our field. Little did I know that so many subsequent – and useless – variations were carried out, putting millions of animals through unspeakable suffering for no reason. I loved the passages on influential thinkers’ views through the ages. Having taken my last history course on the topic ages ago, it was a welcome refresher on the views of Descartes, Montaigne, Rousseau, Hume, Bentham, Thomas of Aquina, etc. I was surprised by the list of animal-based products. I had never stopped to consider whether my candles, soap bars and perfume bottles had been were ethically sourced. Like I needed something else to feel guilty about. As a veggie, I am wary of having to justify my dietary choice all the time, particularly from people who imply you are an irrational softie for caring about killing animals. He has a great way around that. He just says he is boycotting the intensive farming products. Effectively, unless you are getting your animal produce from your cousin or your neighbour, it means you are a veggie. It was interesting to see that these assumptions were STILL being made by many meat eaters and needed addressing… That you supposedly need meat to live (patently untrue) That all veggies oppose the killing of animals to eat (I certainly don’t. I oppose their life of suffering and painful death) I liked that he called meat ‘flesh’. It is less easy to hide from the horrifying truth when you don’t use an impersonal word. An interesting passage on plants and pain, and the methods used to gain our knowledge (neurology, evolutionary function and behaviour)Possible points for optimizationStupidly, I read the 1995 edition instead of the 2015 one. That’s how long it had been on my ‘to read’ shelf… So I don’t know whether what I point out below has drastically changed in the latest edition. I found the chapter on vegetarianism out of place. It fell into prosaic topics like how easy it is for friends to accommodate for your change of diet and that really vegetarian recipes are more diverse, if anything, than ones based on meat. I am a veggie myself so this argument doesn’t come from some defense mechanism or anything. The chapter was simply not intellectually interesting – nor logically or factually rigorous. The logic (and realities) underlying his equal consideration arguments was occasionally weak, and it was a little repetitive. This is disappointing considering he is a professional ethicist. Take these examples: Comparing speciesm to racism doesn’t hold water not just in degree, but also in kind. Dodgy logic (p. 92) arguing that relying less on experimentally induced disease (on animals) would have somehow changed the focus of medicine towards prevention and healthy living. Yes, it would have, as a necessity. Surely he is not arguing that we should forego researching treatments and ONLY focus on prevention? For every disease? On p. 229, his logic becomes outright tortuous. This is the predictable product of hard utilitarianism. He says that the only defense of speciesm (namely to privilege members of our own group), is unjustifiable. It only is if you are a hard-line utilitarian. Take the classic thought experiment where you know your brother is evading his taxes on a grand scale, and you are asked whether you would report him. Of course the circle of empathy rings deeper the closer the person is to our inner circle: immediate family, friends, community, country, species. Whilst I tend to abhore nationalism, I can still see the evolutionary function of this selective empathy along lines of closeness to oneself. A couple of statements are factually incorrect. On p. 222, for example, he claims that no other animal, aside from man, prolongs the suffering of their prey. I can think of two counter-examples in less than a second: cats and killer whales. I was surprised that he did not mention cognitive dissonance. Sure (most of) his arguments supporting vegetarianism are sound (better ecologically, medically and ethically). But the problem isn’t the weight of the arguments, it’s cognitive dissonance. Meat eaters are so committed to the idea that any argument opposing their worldview will just entrench them further. Whilst I also (still) eat eggs and drink dairy product, I am aware of my hypocrisy. He, on the other hand, conveniently breezed over the horror that is the egg and leather industries when discussing the impracticality of veganism and not wearing leather. He does not condemn the free-range egg industry explicitly enough, nearly trivializing its abuses (male chicks are still crushed alive by the millions).The verdict:The book is a classic and must be read by every professional working with animals, and even by laymen.Sometimes his arguments smacked of post hoc rationalisations and got tangled up by his hard line utilitarianism, but the central point is valid: we should view speciesm critically (he would like us to condemn it altogether, which I find neither feasible nor desirable). We should grant animals equal consideration of interests.

⭐Profound and influential book that I originally passed on due to £9.99 price but later bought anyway after seeing it mentioned positively in various other books and articles. This book could change the way you think about animals. In my case, it finally answers a question that I have been musing on for some years: we laugh at our grandparents for their sexism and racism; what are we doing that our grandchildren will laugh at us for? The answer is speciesism and animal rights. The book focuses on a logical and moral argument, but without shoving it down your throat.Minor quibbles:—I would have preferred to see the unedited text of the original edition with comments in brackets or at the end of each section about what has changed since then rather than a completely updated work.—The chapters, especially 2 and 3 are very long and could have been broken up, e.g. with spaces or stars or lines simply, to give a place to break them up.

⭐The book on animal liberation. I went veggie 15 years ago when I first read this book for philosophy a level and it reads just as well today. That’s not to say its for those interested in animal rights, rather for those who are intertested in the rationale behind animal liberation. If you want a well reasoned ethical proposal, read this book!

⭐I finished the first chapter, which was interesting but quite hard going. Something that strikes me immediately is the inappropriate language, especially as Mr Singer is an academic. ‘Retard’ and not ‘learning disabilities?’ I know this book was written in 1975, but revised in 1995. I grew up in the late 60s and to mid 70s, and even then ‘retard’ was considered highly offensive. I shall update further when I’ve finished the book.

⭐In ‘Animal Liberation’ Peter Singer makes a strong moral case against speciesism, “a prejudice or attitude of bias in favor of the interests of members of one’s own species and against those of members of other species”. He draws a convincing analogy between the discrimination of non-human animals through speciesism, and the discrimination of women through sexism, or the discrimination of people based on their ethnicity through racism. Everyone makes choices on an everyday basis that affect the life and welfare of non-human animals in the most fundamental ways, and thus everyone should engage with the ethical arguments revolving around our treatment of them. Reading Animal Liberation is a great place to start!

Keywords

Free Download Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement in PDF format
Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement PDF Free Download
Download Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement 2009 PDF Free
Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement 2009 PDF Free Download
Download Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement PDF
Free Download Ebook Animal Liberation: The Definitive Classic of the Animal Movement