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Summary Of Famine, Affluence And Morality By Peter Singer

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Peter Singer Famine, Affluence, and Morality In “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” by Peter Singer he basically is stating how one should do good no matter what. That one should prevent as much suffering as they can if in the circumstances don’t cause for someone else to feel hurt. Stating, “We ought to be preventing as much suffering as we can without sacrificing something else of comparable moral importance.” (Singer 397) He also stresses that we should do everything in our power to prevent bad things from happening whether it is to other or to situations like fixing a town people once lived in. With that being said he knew that not everyone would be as helpful as others and that they would use the excuse of not being able to give as much as that other person, and if that person is not helping then why should they. He then came up with a conclusion of giving just enough to prevent more suffering. …show more content…

I also agree with the fact that many people do step down from helping in any situation if they see someone give too much money, when they can only give a little embarrassing amount. Instead of that other person helping they are really damaging others from getting help. If everyone just gave or helped a little that would be enough for everyone else to see and to feel guilt for not stepping in and it would also cross out others stating that they do not have much to give; if in case everyone gave a reasonable amount that no one could not afford. For Singer it was about keeping your morals in place and that one ought to do what is known to be the right thing to do. To help in any way possible and in doing so the world would be very different and there would be less

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Philosopher Peter Singer is the writer of an essay, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” that discusses famine and the role we, as human beings, have in order to help get rid of famine. Singer gives many different examples of why we should help those in need. One of those examples has to do with a child drowning. In the scenario, he is walking past a pond and sees a child drowning. He believes that saving the child from drowning is his moral obligation.

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Generally, Singer hopes that people should make a plausible budget to donate money to strangers (384). He starts criticizing Americans who waste their money in things that not necessary to them when he said, “The average family in United States spends almost one-third of its income on things that are no more necessary to them than Dora’s new TV was to her” (379). Here, Singer is trying to warn families not to spend money in not necessary things that this money could mean difference between life and death. At this point, the author is very serious about people’s spending, which could save children’s lives. He also gives his reader a story about Bob, who been in a difficult situation that he can save a child’s life, but he could lose his fancy

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By providing a specific number, $200, Singer demonstrates how simple and reasonable it is to save a child in poverty. Additionally, he repeats, “to save a child’s life,” which demonstrates exactly what a $200 donation could do for a child in poverty. As an example, Singer references a credible philosopher, Peter Unger, and acknowledges that “by his calculation, $200 in donations would help a sickly 2-year-old transform into a healthy 6-year-old.” Next, he establishes, “if you were to give up dining out just for one month, you would easily save that amount.” Singer emphasizes this to show the reader how simple it is to save $200, and, more importantly, save the life of a helpless child.

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In The working poor by David K shipler writes about the real poverty in America that many forget about. In The working poor by David K Shipler, writes about the many factors that separate the working poor from well being. Shipler starts of by stating the traits that are needed to be successful in America. Some for example, a well paying job, high self esteem, good connections and many more.

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In “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” by Peter Singer, he argues that if the money not spent on necessities of life were donated, “that money could be the difference between life and death for children in need.” He makes note of the fact that so much of our income is spent on things that are not essential to life, and that if we were to donate the money we did not have to spend, we would help many children in need. Singer gives many theoretical examples such as, a Brazilian woman giving away a child whom she knows is going to be killed, just to get $1,000 that she spent on a new TV. Another example would be, Bob having the choice between a train smashing his Bugatti or killing a kid who doesn’t hear the train, and Bob decides to save his car and not the kid. Singer states that although those actions may have seemed awful, we Americans do the same, just without having it directly in front of us like Bob and the Brazilian woman did.

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The novel emphasizes the strategic military intervention of King Ramses, as he forms his armed forces to confront the powerful Hittite forces of the ancient world at the battle of Kadesh. Ancient Egypt and the Hittites are two neighbouring nations constantly at war due to their geographic proximity and relentless desire to expand their empire. The great King Ramses, son of King Seti was a warrior with charming attributes and strong decisions. Although he was not popular like his father, his commitment towards egypt aided him to protect his borders and establish peace. Despite the enemies outside Egypt and within Egypt, he managed to acquire the strength and stability necessary for his armies to advance successfully.

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The philosophical issue that we have considered since the Mid-Term that has interested me the most was Global Poverty. Singer’s moral principle “If is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it. I agree with this fully because everybody should be willing to help others when they are suffering without having to thinking about it. I just really understood where Peter Singer was coming from. The example he made about the toddler flailing in the pond and if I would get out of my car to help the child I will be late for work.

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Singer ties this back to the opportunity that many have to save the lives of children by sending money to charities but choose not

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She then continues, “a benevolent person must often aim at the good of others and call it ‘a good thing’” (48). This provides an adequate definition of what a benevolent person is. She then continues “This, then, seems to be the way in which seeing states of affairs in which people are happy as good states of affairs really is an essential part of morality” (48), arguing that it must be part of morality to try to have people happy. She then draws an important distinction between having benevolence as an essential part of morality, and having it as the end of morality. “But it is very important that we have found this end within morality, and forming part of it, not standing outside it as the ‘good state of affairs’ by which moral action in general is to be judged.”

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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.

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Due to this reason, Singer states that the fair donation argument fails and would not be enough to fix the problem. Now that we have an understanding of Singer’s beliefs, I can show how Singer would respond to the question given in the prompt. Peter would say that yes he should donate, but the small amounts he would be choosing to donate would be nowhere near the amount that he should be choosing to give. Singer would say that any money that he isn’t spending on necessities should be donated to help those in dire situations, and that not doing so is

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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.

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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.

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