title: Ethics (Oxford Readers)
author:  Peter Singer 
description: What is ethics? Where does it come from? Can we really hope to find any rational way of deciding how we ought to live? If we can, what would it be like, and how are we going to know when we have found it? This book is not a conventional reader in moral philosophy. To capture the essentials of what we know about the origins and nature of ethics, Peter Singer has drawn on anthropology, history, observations of non-human animals, the theory of evolution, game theory, and works of fiction, in addition to moral philosophy. By choosing some of the finest pieces of writing, old and new, in and about ethics, he conveys the intellectual excitement of the search for answers to basic questions about how we ought to live.
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  Praise for Peter Singer and
  
   _The Most Good You Can Do_
  
  ‘Peter Singer is a public intellectual _par excellence_ ; he takes complex
  philosophical notions and relates them directly to the general reader without
  a hint of loftiness or superiority.’
  
   _MONTHLY_
  
  ‘Peter Singer’s status as a man of principles and towering intellect—a
  philosopher extraordinaire, if you will—is unrivalled in Australia.’
  
   _SYDNEY MORNING HERALD_
  
  ‘Peter Singer may be the most controversial philosopher alive; he is certainly
  among the most influential.’
  
   _NEW YORKER_
  
  ‘Singer makes a strong case for a simple idea—that each of us has a tremendous
  opportunity to help others with our abilities, time and money. _The Most Good
  You Can Do_ is an optimistic and compelling look at the positive impact that
  giving can have on the world.’
  
  BILL AND MELINDA GATES
  
   _‘The Most Good You Can Do_ is an important book. Reading it may change your
  life and save someone else’s.’
  
   _AUSTRALIAN BOOK R