Objectivity in Ethics: From Hume to Effective Altruism

Peter Singer (Princeton University, University of Melbourne)

This talk will draw on arguments about objectivity in ethics made in my recent co-authored book (Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek & Peter Singer, The Point of View of the Universe: Sidgwick and Contemporary Ethics)  as well as on my current work in progress, which is about the emerging movement known as Effective Altruism.  I will argue, broadly along Sidgwick's lines, for objectivity in ethics and in practical reason, and against a Humean view of the relationship between reason and emotion.  I will suggest that the case for objectivism gains some support from empirical research in psychology and neuroscience and - more speculatively - from the motivations of at least some proponents of Effective Altruism.