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Persona #214

Peter Singer

1946–
Australian philosopher; Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton; principal contemporary utilitarian and animal-liberation theorist

Animal Liberation and effective altruism — preference utilitarianism applied with maximum consistency, comfort be damned

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where personas disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid (32 attributes) is shown.

Attribute Peter Singer
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Mediated
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Partial
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method N/A
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each persona's writings reveal about their stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Peter Singer

Standard linear physical time; ethics is forward-looking, oriented to consequences.

Space

Peter Singer

Standard substantival space; global obligations span the entire surface of the Earth.

Matter

Peter Singer

Standard substantival matter; sentient beings (human and non-human animal) are the ethically relevant subjects.

Observer

Peter Singer

Plural sentient observers, with their preferences as the ethically primary data. No metaphysical agency.

Energy

Peter Singer

Standard physics.

Information

Peter Singer

No personal afterlife in the framework.

Internal Tensions

Where each persona's working synthesis strains against itself.

Peter Singer

Singer's positions on infanticide of severely disabled newborns, voluntary euthanasia, and the moral status of fetuses generated sustained protest from disability-rights groups and Catholic philosophers; his 1999 appointment at Princeton was accompanied by major protests. The effective-altruism movement he co-founded has had its own internal crises (the FTX-SBF collapse most visibly). Singer's methodological consistency — follow the premises wherever they lead — is his strength and the source of most of the controversies.