What is the basis for the value we ascribe to human life? How should we treat animals, the unborn and the profoundly disabled? Are rights grounded in our cognitive capacities and abilities or based in an inherent value that comes from a transcendent source?
Peter Singer is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and a noted moral philosopher. He is the author of books such as Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics and The Life You Can Save. Peter is an atheist and has argued that our view of morality and human value should not be driven by religious views about the sanctity of life, but by the ability of any living thing to have preferences and cognitive faculties.
Andy Bannister is a Christian thinker and speaker with Solas Centre for Public Christianity and author of the book The Atheist Who Didn't Exist: Or The Dreadful Consequences of Bad Arguments. He believes that morality and human value are tied to the fact that humans are created in God's image. He believes that, while Singer’s viewpoint is consistent with his atheism, it has a chilling consequences for our commitment to human rights.
