Peter Singer is a contemporary philosopher whose ethical theories stirred up not only agreement but also criticism. He writes about the relation between animals and humans, between rich and poor countries; he makes reflections over euthanasia, abortion and infanticide.

He tackles these issues using the utilitarianism of preferences, which is searching for the greater good for the greatest number, valuing each preference from each perspective and background.

All Singer’s theories, in fact, are based on four simple axioms:

1. Pain, both physical and psychological, is negative;
2. Human beings aren't the only beings able to suffer, animals can also feel these conditions;
3. When we are weigthing the seriousness of taking a life, we should dismiss race, sex, species, and analyze other features of the being that is going to be killed: his/her wish to continue his/her life, the quality of his/her life;
4. We are responsible not only for what we do, but also for what we could have prevented or that we decided not to do.

Here I would like to examine Singer’s position about animal rights. In 1975 he wrote Animal Liberation*, a book that played a fundamental role in starting the movement for animal rights. Singer rejects rights as a moral ideal, but he accepts them as derived from utilitarian principles, particularly the principle of minimizing suffering.

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