On Friday evening, BU Veg Society’s Rachel Atcheson (CAS ’13) organized the biggest event of her college career: bringing Peter Singer, described by The New Yorker as “the most influential living philosopher,” to Boston University for a free presentation in Morse Auditorium. Professor Singer, who currently teaches bioethics at Princeton University, first gained recognition in the animal rights movement with his 1975 book, Animal Liberation, which is now considered the philosophical foundation for animal rights.
“I think of him as the godfather of the animal rights movement,” said Atcheson at the reception before Singer’s speech. But the professor’s teachings aren’t limited to animal rights; although Atcheson brought him to BU, thirteen student groups contributed to funding the presentation, including the BU Veg Society and Undergraduate Philosophy Association, as well as the Philosophy Department and CAS student government. He will donate his $10,000 speaking fee to two major animal charities.
Professor Singer’s unique approach to animal rights drew a mixed crowd of about three hundred to the presentation. “We are animals, not something separate,” he observed. In the audience along with philosophy students and radical activists was biomedical engineering student Derin Sevenler, who turned to veganism for its environmental benefits rather than its ethics and takes a more practical approach to the topic. He agrees with Singer’s moral point of view, but “you don’t have to be Pete Singer to realize the future of the planet depends on us changing the way we treat animals.”
Several students were at the event because they had studied Singer’s philosophy in class here at BU. In fact, nearly every ethics class on campus reads his work. “I don’t necessarily agree with Singer,” said Dan Genkin (CAS ’16) moments before engaging six vegans in a heated debate over such issues as immigration and global warming. Despite disagreeing with many of Singer’s teachings, Genkin came to the event at the recommendation of his professor.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was Jordan Gallagher, who graduated from BU in 1973. A strong advocate of animal rights, Gallagher remains a dedicated activist, but cut ties with BU years ago because of a dispute over vivisection. “They were sewing kittens’ eyelids shut and putting them in these tumbler things,” he told me, as part of a sensory function experiment. Gallagher returned to Morse Auditorium to hear Singer speak.
The diversity of the attendees is part of what makes BU an ideal outlet for such an event. “University is a learning environment based on logic,” said Lindsay Crocket (CAS ’15). “We’re educated people just starting to form our own ideas.” Fellow BU Veg Society member Maggie Agardi (CAS ’14) agreed: “At BU, even if we’re not always receptive to an idea, we’re always receptive to hearing it.”
Professor Singer seemed to be of a similar mind when I asked him how he felt about reaching out to an audience of university students. “People of college age are more willing to change,” he explained. “They’re less rigid in their ways.” His advice for young people wanting to learn more about ethics as they set out into the world? “Study philosophy, take applied ethics courses, and meet people from a different background. Speak to people who are unlike yourself.”
