Excerpts from a conversation at Melbourne Writers’ Festival, reported in The Age August 23, 2004:

Philosopher Raimond Gaita: ‘Professor Peter Singer is a consequentialist: he believes that whether something is right or wrong depends on the consequences of all those affected by it.’

Prof Gaita on the other hand became a philosopher because he believed a humane society was only possible ‘if people accepted that some things could not be done whatever the consequences.’

Prof. Singer challenged Professor Gaita to clarify his view that some things could not be done whatever the consequences. ‘We can talk about rare cases where torture is the only way to find the ticking bomb in a building,’ where that torture might save thousands of lives, he said.

(Note: I once chaired a public discussion between Professor Singer and some right-to-life abortionists. As I recall it Singer made the point that ‘pain’ was a non-issue for primitive forms of life – including early months in the life of the foetus. I asked why these very primitive forms of life seem to self-protectively recoil from invasion of their being/space by outside stimuli? Can’t remember his response, which I thought was unsatisfactory…)

Shalom!

Rowland Croucher http://jmm.org.au/