ABSTRACT
Peter Singer has been described as having more positive influence on the world than any other living philosopher, and in 2005 Time magazine listed him among the 100 most influential people worldwide. Singer is known for opposing the species-based distinction. Richard Hare was a leading advocate of utilitarianism, an impartial form of consequentialism Singer was also attracted to. A moral theory is stronger if it relies on weak premises like 'pain is bad', and 'it is wrong to cause it unnecessarily' than on controversial metaphysical assumptions. Singer's anti-speciesism is often misinterpreted. First, anti-speciesists can accept that humans and animals are, in fact, different. Second, anti-speciesists need not claim that killing an animal is as bad as killing a person. And Singer's emphasis on focusing on the global picture and doing the most good advises against sectarianism and favours seeking convergence to achieve positive change.
