Reddit reviews Writings on an Ethical Life

Yeah, it is difficult to write a comprehensive theory of ethics in a 100px high comment box; even harder to write one that people find interesting :-)

Singer has said (and I paraphrase): "The foundation of ethics is the theory that you are not above the rules, just because you are you." All my messages are variants on this theme: if you claim a rule, you must be consistent in its application.

I'm not certain intentionality is terribly important (I would like to be protected from an avalanche, even though an avalanche presumably has no "intent") so I would disagree with the last part of your statement, but that is essentially it. More formally:

1. If I claim X for my self, I must allow others to claim it as well
   
2. I claim a life free from suffering
   
3. Therefore, I must allow others to claim the same
   
   This is somewhat simplistic (it doesn't tell us, for example, how to handle competing claims) but it is not too bad. I have basically attempted to summarize the first chapter of Writings on an Ethical Life, so if you would like to hear the same argument but by a better philosopher, I would encourage you to check that out :-)