The Research About Peter Singer's Natural Value

Singer's natural value theory is an innovative value theory, which is based on the discussions on the relationship between human beings and animals. Through the analysis and discussion of Singer' natural value, this article considers that Singer take the animals with the perceiving ability equality as the basis of the principle of equal consideration of interest which there is on reasonable theoretical foundation. Compared with the views of other scholars, the previous discussions on Singer's theory merely take the standing point of animal. Therefore, This article aims to converts the logical starting point to human beings for a further study of Singer's theory.The studies on the relationship between human beings and animals are through a long process in the West. Philosophers have always got such problems in mind, no matter in the period of Genesis, Christian or modern days, which are whether animals can enjoy the equal status with human beings as well as whether animals should be given moral concerns from us. As we know, in ancient Greece human beings are considered as the yardstick to everything and animals are just tools, while Christianity claims the immortality of soles and the sacred life. Compared with the modern discussion of animal rights, we can conclude that the open-up attitude towards the relationship between human and animal developed gradually and such a view emerges recently.Singer considers that equality is the basis of the principle of equal consideration of interest, which takes the ability of feeling as its premise. Thus, we should transcend the boundaries of species to apply such principle on animals, since animals also are able to feel. On the question of killing, Singer divides different species according to their values and claims that not all lives are equal and the value of some lives are certainly prior than others. Though animals may have different values, they shouldn't be killed as long as they are able to feel. What is more, the principle of utilitarianism views that if one behavior can cause a greater joy or address the larger moral suffering in a comprehensive sense, it is moral; otherwise it is immoral. According to such a view, Singh opposes to animal experiments and factory farming methods and approves vegetarianism. He believes that the harmful effect caused from the hurt to animals is much larger than the benefit to human beings. Therefore, it is immoral and the larger interests of animals can not be sacrificed for the trivial interests of human beings.Singer's theory has aroused great attentions and discussions in the Western academic field. Through the literature review, this article tries to protest Singer's theory primarily on two aspects; one is the contradiction between the two theoretical basis of his theory, that is the principle of equality and the principle of utilitarianism, the other is that Singer only applies his theory the principle of equal consideration of interests to animals with the perceiving ability, while excludes those animals or plants who get no such ability, which is in conflict with the comprehensive natural theories advocated by other scholars. Compared with the views of other scholars, we do see the advantages of Singer's theory, but it still need to be amended and developed. Moreover, the previous discussions on Singer's theory merely take the standing point of animal and nature, which hardly reveal the essence of the issue.This article aims to find a new standing point for a further study of Singer's theory. Taking the methodology Professor Zheng Huizi's theory of "space-time completeness," the author of this article converts the logical starting point to human beings to enhance the existence of the human beings for the study of the characteristics of human nature. Since the evolution of human is the same as the evolution of culture, ethics realized within the process of such evolution and gets its perfection gradually. As a moral species, human beings should extend his moral concern to animals actively and consciously so that human beings can deal with nature in a more human way with moral as the guidance and basic principle in his practices.