In this book peter Singer posits as an existential problem the question of the meaning of one's life and asserts almost as a given that the pursuit of material success is not a satisfying answer to this question. The pursuit of self interest is individually and collectively self-defeating he writes. A better answer to the question of what do I live for is to live ethically. "The ethical life is the most fundamental alternative to the conventional pursuit of self interest." By living ethically he essentially means to live for others with the rest of your resources and capabilities once you have secured for yourself only as much as needed for a simple but not burdensome life. In other words he recommends altruism as the path to a happy, satisfying life, and proposes that the first instinctive objection that you will feel this to be an onerous sacrifice for you is mistaken, that the satisfaction, and peace of mind, and philosophical fulfillment you gain more than makes up for any loss of material pleasures. The reader can readily agree with this sentiment, but then Singer introduces the fly in the ointment; although each of us in our quiet self reflection recognize the validity of this outlook, were we to espouse it openly to those around us we would be viewed as fools or suckers. This fear of being thought a sucker keeps most of us from making the fundamental decision to live in this way.
After introducing this basic idea the author devotes the majority of the book to analyze the issue of self-interest versus public interest in a review of religious and philosophical thought, evolutionary theories, social research, and cultures in different countries. The author closes with a chapter entitled The good life where he describes some individuals who to him represent the ethical life and then passionately argues that the huge prevalence of unimaginable preventable suffering in the world demands that we take that decision to live for more than our self interest, not just to have a worthwhile cause to live for but because the need is so great. This is a well-reasoned and worthwhile book, which definitely adds to the amount of good in the world.
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