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First Sentence
"Animal Liberation" may sound more like a parody of other lib movements than a serious objective. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

69 Reviews

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4.3 out of 5 stars (69 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The bible of Animal Rights,and this from a former carnivore!, April 24 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Animal Liberation (Paperback)

No matter what anyone thinks of Mr. Singers other philosophical opinions it is hard to refute the arguments in this book regarding the way in which we treat animals. Singer is so convincing that, although Utilitarian himself, he usually relies on more general well accepted ethical principles to justify his arguments.
To all the people who have read the book and disagree I ask this: Is there nothing wrong with me slowly toturing a cat if that is how I get my jollies? Of course the answer is Yes. It would take a cold heart indeed to say that torturing a cat is no worse than breaking a inanimate rock into two. So torturing a cat (or dog, or cow etc.) for fun is wrong, we can agree. Now, let us say that I don't like torturing the cat but I do like a certain noise the cat makes when I torture it. I can only make the cat make this noise when I torture it. And I'll even grant that I REALLY like this noise, it gives me a great deal of pleasure. Is it now OK for me to torture the cat to retrieve my desired noise. NO. Of course not. In fact most people would rightly say that this is just as bad as torturing the cat just to torture it. Next let's imagine that I can't bear to torture cats on my own but, I still want that noise! So, I pay a guy to torture the cat for me and then tape record the noise and deliver it to me. And since I get sick after one listening, I have him do this over and over again. Is this wrong? Of course. Common sense (and any reputable moral theory)says that it's just as bad as tortuing the cat in the first place. If you have agreed with the argument so far you wont be hard to persuade when you read Singer's great book for as he tells us, this process is exactly what we do to animals in order to eat them! We pay people to torture them (given the macroeconomic scale in which they must be produced, extremely torturous enviroments are inevitable) and then deliver the "food" to us. It's just wrong. And to those people who say that "since they can't be moral themselves why should we treat them morally?" I ask, "would it be alright to torture babies or severly mentally retarded people?" Both these groups can not engage morally but both would be wrong to make suffer.
---These are the kind of revelations that occur page by page in Animal Liberation. If you are a devout carnivore, as I was, I promise that after reading this book you will realize that there are still more important things in the world then the momentarlily satisfactions of the palate. Read it!

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars To be read by everyone, July 15 2004

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"bobby_mcgee" (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animal Liberation (Paperback)

To many, the animal rights movement seems flaky and its supporters are seen as bleeding hearts who love their pets. In "Animal Liberation", Peter Singer employs no sentiment, using rational philisophical arguments to defend animals. He uses a thoroughly convincing Utilitarian argument to explain his reasons. Singer is not an animal lover, as he has made clear, but he is in opposition to unnecessary suffering, the worst of which is being inflicted on animals today.
Don't worry if you've not read a book of philosophy before. This was my first when I initially read it, and it was written so clearly with such interesting arguments that I sailed through it. It's a must-read for anyone starting to think about animal rights, as well as for anyone who disagrees with the movement. It can't hurt anyone to learn the reasons for all this fuss.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Reasons for Animal Liberation, July 15 2004

By

Eric Blanton (Cooper City, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Animal Liberation (Paperback)

I remember passing by a banner at my college that said "Why does your love for animals stop at dogs and cats?" a couple of months ago. Ever since I saw that banner, I've had a different way of looking at non-human animals. I decided to pick up this book a few days later and I can honestly say that my lifestyle and thinking has dramatically changed because of it.

Animal Liberation is a call to everyone to help stop, or at least drastically limit, the cruel mass-practices of animal testing and factory farming. Singer makes very persuasive arguements against both of the aforementioned practices and describes the punishment (many of it hard to even read about) animals have gone through simply to test our products (especially cosmetics) and fill our appetites.

The book is aptly titled Animal Liberation because animals need to be freed from man's dominance over them. I completely agree with Singer's path to "animal liberation" which consist of a change in mindset and a change in diet. One of the strongest arguements in the book is how Singer compares animals' condition to former practices of human bondage. We as humans seem to deem animals as inferior, means to our ends, and usable, just as masters viewed their captives. But animals cannot rise up and march peacefully in numbers, speak for their freedom, and take action. It is our ethical duty to grant them their rights as sentient (able to feel pain, fear, and other emotions) beings.

After reading Animal Liberation I was appalled. I really had no idea the situation was this bad. The book is an excellent read; it's arguements are clear, humane, and ultimately, right. I can gladly say that this book has changed my diet (vegetarian), lifestyle, and outlook on things nonhuman.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a most important read
This book changed my life

Published on April 3 2004 by Farah Akbar

5.0 out of 5 stars do you really want to know
I read excerpts from this book flipping through it in a bookstore. I got so sick that I sat down in the floor and leaned up against the wall. Read more

Published on Mar 26 2004