Peter Singer

On 6 June, Australian bioethicist and philosopher Peter Singer will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. That same evening, he will give a lecture on the updated edition of his groundbreaking book Animal Liberation in La Monnaie’s Malibran Room.

Five decades ago, Peter Singer exposed an uncomfortable truth in Animal Liberation: our civilisation is built on the suffering of animals – and we far too often choose to ignore that suffering. His book, a landmark in the animal rights movement, called for an end to the treatment of animals as mere objects. His argument was crystal clear: if suffering matters, then every being capable of suffering matters too.

In 2024, Animal Liberation was revised and re-released. In this lecture, Singer looks back on 50 years of animal ethics. What has changed? What remains the same? And how do animal rights weigh in today on our ecological, social and moral choices? Expect an evening that confronts, challenges and provokes.