What If Peter Singer Is Wrong About Morality?

What does it really mean to do the right thing, and how do we know when we’re doing wrong?

From adolescence, we’re told to make moral choices. But once we’re adults, we rarely stop to examine the foundations of those beliefs. Is it ever okay to lie to spare someone pain? To pamper your kids when the same money could save children overseas? To end a pregnancy, or deny a right, or take a life?

In modern Western culture, most of us inherit a version of utilitarianism, the idea that morality is about maximising happiness and minimising harm. Its most famous advocate, Peter Singer, has shaped how generations think about ethics, from animal rights to altruism.

But what if he’s wrong?

Bo Winegard, a social psychologist and essayist, wrote *Against Singerism,* an audacious critique arguing that Singer’s philosophy, while elegant, fails to capture the messy reality of moral life. If we can’t rely on outcomes alone to define good and evil, what’s left to guide us?

Josh and Bo unpack the appeal and limits of utilitarianism, the traps of moral absolutism, and what it truly means to lead a good life in a world obsessed with doing the “greatest good for the greatest number.”