In this paper, I will summarize and compartmentalize the main idea and arguments made by the philosopher Peter Singer in his excerpt from How Are We to Live called The Good life. Singer starts off the excerpt asking the audience why are we so connected for our kin, and later expounds on that question by asking why is it that we are people starting to care for strangers. These questions help birth the main idea of the excerpt which is the power of the brain and how it sets us apart from all other species by giving us the ability to reason. This main idea branches off into three parts first being what does reasoning do for us, secondly, how is reason connected with the ethical, and finally, how does “the point of view of the universe” help aid
…show more content…
Singer wants us to distance ourselves from our own point of view, and take on a wider perspective, which he calls “the point of view of the universe”. In this there are three different views dictated by reason the first being, the subjective view. This view puts your interests and desires as the number one priority. You care for your friends and family and push strangers’ interests and desires behind your own. The same way reasoning allows you to think subjectively it also allows you to think objectively and put yourself in the shoes of a stranger. This allows you to realize that your interests and desires are no more important than the strangers around you, essentially allowing you to see how the universe would look like with no personal perspective. Instead of viewing the universe with a subjective or objective mind set, Singer argues that a healthy mix of the two allows for the best mind set, which is conciseness. If you live too subjective the world would be clouded with desire, and if you live too objective there would be no desires, which would lead to a loss of value and ultimately a loss ethics. Your ability to reason should show you the suffering of others, while at the same time realize that it is similar to your own suffering and it matters just as
Singer wants us to distance ourselves from our own point of view, and take on a wider perspective, which he calls “the point of view of the universe”. In this there are three different views dictated by reason the first being, the subjective view. This view puts your interests and desires as the number one priority. You care for your friends and family and push strangers’ interests and desires behind your own. The same way reasoning allows you to think subjectively it also allows you to think objectively and put yourself in the shoes of a stranger. This allows you to realize that your interests and desires are no more important than the strangers around you, essentially allowing you to see how the universe would look like with no personal perspective. Instead of viewing the universe with a subjective or objective mind set, Singer argues that a healthy mix of the two allows for the best mind set, which is conciseness. If you live too subjective the world would be clouded with desire, and if you live too objective there would be no desires, which would lead to a loss of value and ultimately a loss ethics. Your ability to reason should show you the suffering of others, while at the same time realize that it is similar to your own suffering and it matters just as