[The Brown Daily Herald]

The animal liberation movement is a "far-reaching revolution," philosopher and animal rights advocate Peter Singer told a packed MacMillan 117 Tuesday night. In his lecture, titled "Ethics and Animals: Where we've come from, and where we need to go," the world-renowned ethicist shared his controversial views about the ethical basis for giving animals the same moral considerations as humans and the justification for treating all beings as a "community of equals."

"We should give interests equal consideration, whatever those interests might be," Singer said. "It's hard to say that species membership should mark a morally crucial divide."

Because animals suffer like human beings and can feel pain, Singer said, humans cannot justify exploiting other species for food production and research. "This equal consideration of interests is one that we routinely violate," he said.

Singer, a professor at Princeton, came to Brown with support from the Brown Animal Rights Club and the Kaleidoscope Lecture Fund, a group promoting the expression of diversity of ideas and opinions at the University. Though his appearances have spurred protests in the past, Tuesday's talk occurred without incident, save a quiet protest and pamphleting from members of the Lyndon LaRouche movement before the event.

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http://www.browndailyherald.com/ethicist-challenges-man-animal-speciesism-1.2049447