ipl-logo

Peter Singer's 'Famine, Affluence, And Morality'

667 Words3 Pages

Peter Singer is an Australian moral philosopher who applies ethics to many controversial issues. One of these issues was discussed in his piece of writing titled, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality.” Singer proposes a fair and strong assumption concerning his argument that, “suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad…” but stretches his assumptions too much when demanding that, “it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening…”, and that we, “ought morally to do so.”
As far as assumptions go I believe that Singer hit his first one right on the head of the nail. Singer tells the readers that these issues of lack of supplies is a terrible thing in the world and frankly you would have to have some guts to …show more content…

Singer wants the reader to feel as though if it is in their power to prevent even one person from suffering then we must do so without basically any consideration. This means that as a working citizen you should work day to day, buy the items needed for you to survive, and then send the rest of your paycheck off to another individual. Why is this is a problem? Expenses are not planned. We may have extra money at the time but when you get a flat on the side of the road, or need to go to the doctors to get an x-ray, where are you going to take this money from now that it is gone? Not to mention that this would mean that even college students should be doing this with their weekly paychecks, but what are we expected to do when we begin our lives thousands of dollars in debt because we now have used our every last penny out of so called moral obligation. Singer’s assumption is just too extreme that we must do everything possible to prevent others from being poor. Personally I believe this argument is hands down wrong. As a human living in an ever-changing world we have to constantly be prepared for the worst. We have to be putting our every extra penny into savings accounts for any mishap that may happen. Singer proposes an argument that should be hard for any working low or middle class citizen to accept. It is possible that high class citizens would partially accept this idea and donate a portion of their paycheck to those in poverty but never their total extra

Show More
Related

Rhetorical Analysis Of Confronting Inequality By Paul Krugman

290 Words | 2 Pages

Paul Krugman author of the article “Confronting Inequality” stresses the inequality of our social classes in the United States, he uses statistics to demonstrate the staggering consequences of this inequality within our social classes. Krugman emphasizes the fact that a majority of our wealth is owned by about one percent of the population, which is leaving the middle and lower class at an extreme disadvantage. One example Krugman uses is education; children that have wealthy families, have a higher percentage of finishing college than those of lower income families, proving the statement that Krugman was accentuating, “Class-inherited class- usually trumps talent.” The parents within this middle to lower class have been exceed their financial

Read More

Summary Of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel And Dimed

652 Words | 3 Pages

As a reader reads Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed on (Not) Getting by in America, they get an insight on what it is like to live a low income life. Ehrenreich proposes the argument in the introduction that poverty is a serious matter and just because one has a job does not mean they are not considered poor. She wants to persuade us to realize that American is not the land of opportunity as promised and portrayed and there are regular people who are struggling to live a comfortable life. Throughout her book she mentions her experiences with living on minimum wage, the hiring process, and how she felt being put in that position. After reading Ehrenreich’s book I am thoroughly persuaded.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Singer Solution To World Poverty

1699 Words | 7 Pages

In Singer’s “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” he argues the importance of donation to poor people, which could mean the difference between life and death for children in need. He gives an example for Bob, who has an opportunity to save a child’s life, but he could lose his worthy car. He makes a comparison between people who are capable to donate money to save children lives and people who have no chance to help or donate under certain situation such as Bob. He also encourages people who are in the middle class to donate at a minimum of 200$; furthermore, he thinks that people should donate more like 200.000$ when they consider the level of sacrifice that they would demand of Bob’s situation. He gives some estimates for the amount of donations that people should give to overseas.

Read More

Analysis: The Singer Solution To World Poverty

794 Words | 4 Pages

According to the United Nations, a child dies of hunger every ten seconds. Likewise, millions of people live in poverty and do not know when they will eat again. While the typical American throws away leftover food, children are dying across the world from starvation. To put this into perspective: By the time you have started reading, a child has died of hunger. But who is to blame?

Read More

Peter Singer's Arguments For Helping Overseas Aid Groups

557 Words | 3 Pages

Peter Singer argues that prosperous people should donate their excess money to the overseas aid groups. When saying this, he believes Americans should stop spending their money on luxuries such as a TV, a computer, a car, and videogames. Instead of spending money on items such as that, he thought we should start sending money to those who are starving in other countries and need our help. There are pros and cons to Singer’s argument and both can be greatly supported.

Read More

Argumentative Essay On Nickel And Dimed

876 Words | 4 Pages

Argumentative Text Essay In the book Nickel and Dimed, written by Barbara Ehrenreich, the author argues how challenging it is to live in a life of poverty. To prove to herself as well as others that this statement is accurate, she makes the decision to experience this lifestyle firsthand by taking low-wage jobs and recording the results. Ehrenreich took on jobs including a maid service, waitressing, and assisting the nursing home to make enough money for a place to sleep and food to eat. The work’s central argument is the fact that minimum and low wage workers face a myriad of difficulties in getting by in America; they receive very low pay, harsh treatments from their employers, and the inability to have an actual life.

Read More

Singer Solution To World Poverty Argument

1292 Words | 6 Pages

Singer is no stranger to writing moral arguments, having written many different books and articles in the past on a wide range of ethical debates. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” originally printed in the New York Times in the fall of 1999 just before Singer began to work at Princeton University, is intended for the common man, a middle-class citizen who makes average wages and reads popular newspapers. As Singer is a professor of ethics, the article is structured around the

Read More

Confronting Inequality Summary

933 Words | 4 Pages

The rich are able to run an economy on their own, as they do not need a government to support them or hold their hand like the poor do. This leaves the lower class almost lost in a society as rich are able to succeed in life, as the poor struggle to find a job to bring home food. Krugman also states that rich are more likely to go to college and graduate, compared to the poor. This prompts the middle class to buy a house in a good school district, even if it is out of their price range. At the time, Krugman says that health care and repealing the Bush tax cuts would allow the United States to, “use the revenue to pay for more benefits that help lower-and middle-income families.”

Read More

Peter Singer Solution To World Poverty Analysis

976 Words | 4 Pages

Singer’s Solution Good or Not? Who wouldn’t want to find a solution to end or reduce poverty in the world? A utilitarian philosopher, Peter Singer stated his own solution in his essay called “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”. Singer’s solution is simple: people shouldn’t be spend their money on luxuries, instead they should donate their money to overseas aid organizations. Peter uses two characters in his essay in hope to get to the hearts and minds of the people, and encourage them to donate.

Read More

The Singer Solution To World Poverty Analysis

1805 Words | 8 Pages

In this paper I will be arguing against Peter Singer’s views on poverty, which he expresses in his paper “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”. Singer argues that all people with wealth surplus to their essential needs are morally obligated to prevent the suffering of those in dire situations. I will argue that you can not hold people morally obligated to prevent the suffering of others, and that people can only be held morally obligated to prevent suffering that they themselves caused. To begin, we will look at Singers beliefs and arguments regarding poverty and the responsibility of people to help those in need. Singer’s first arguments revolves around a girl named Dora, who is a retired schoolteacher, who is barely making a living writing

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The Singer Solution To World Poverty

576 Words | 3 Pages

Singer attempts to close this gap with the age old question of ‘why don’t we give the riches’ money to the poor’. The essence of Singer’s argument is obviously end world poverty. Probably the strongest point made in Singer’s argument is the involvement of the whole world. By taking this money from those across the world eliminates the opportunity for indifference. To stand with indifference is to stand with the oppressor.

Read More

Peter Singer's Argument In Famine, Affluence And Morality

3128 Words | 13 Pages

Philip Manning 12504697 Q) Evaluate Peter Singer’s argument in ‘Famine, Affluence and Morality’. There can be no doubt that Peter Singer’s argument in ‘Famine, Affluence and Morality’ is unrealistic, unfair and not sustainable. Singer’s arguments are valid arguments but not sound. In order to get a clear and balanced view of my arguments which disprove the Singer article, it is first necessary to examine and lay out the main aspects of Singer’s argument in ‘Famine, Affluence and Morality’. My arguments against Singer’s claims shall then be detailed and examined in depth.

Read More

Injustice In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

550 Words | 3 Pages

Injustices, tragedies, and unfortunate circumstances have plagued humankind for all of existence. Many of these problems have arisen from the society of man, and could not be found in nature. The hatred, selfishness, prejudice, and maliciousness seen in so many injustices man created unnecessarily, as well as all the suffering it causes does not need to exist. If an individual witnesses a crime or injustice occurring, it is their responsibility to defend the weak and fight for whatever is morally right, even at the cost of themselves.

Read More

Summary Of Chris Abani's The Lottery

1897 Words | 8 Pages

He believes beggars shouldn’t be looked down on because they don’t have jobs. Abani, Hughes, and Orwell all claim that society pressures people into believing certain things and acting in certain ways by, making people learn from others mistakes, pressuring humans into doing what others do, and

Read More

It Is Expensive To Be Poor By Barbara Ehrenreich Essay

1170 Words | 5 Pages

The article talks about poverty within america and the issues and resolutions connected to the economy. In “It is Expensive To Be Poor” Ehrenreich claim is that people in poverty are not in that situation because of self habits but because they simply do not have money at the moment. she explains that anyone

Read More

More about Peter Singer's 'Famine, Affluence, And Morality'

Related Topics

Open Document