...Peter Singer’s main argument in his essay “Famine Affluence and Morality” is that we, in affluent countries, have a moral obligation to give equally and substantially to those suffering across the globe. Thus, he would refute any claim that there is moral justification for people to care more about those close by than those far away. His Principle of Sacrifice highlights this idea: If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally to do it. [Singer 1971: 231] Whilst Singer’s principle appears to make sense, as long as we agree with his first premise that suffering resulting from ‘lack of food shelter and medical care are bad’, it does not explain why people do tend to care more about the suffering of those close by than those far away. As humans we seem to have an innate moral inclination to help those who are suffering, for example when we see a child crying because they have hurt...
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...Running Head: Peter Singer’s Beliefs 1 In reading his article “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” Peter Singer gives us a seemingly devastating critiques of our ordinary ways of thinking in regards to famine relief, charity, and morality in general. In the spite of this there are some very few people that have accepted, or at any rate acted on, the conclusions he has reached. In aspect of these facts one could possible say of Singer’s arguments, as Hume said of Berkeley’s arguments for immaterialism, that “ they admit of no answer and produce no conviction.” In which I believe that Singer’s considerations show that people should do what would be considerably more than most people would actually do, people do not establish Singer’s conclusions in their full strength or generality. So Singer’s arguments may admit to partial answers, and possibly once properly qualified may produce some conviction. In the article Singer argues that the people who live in affluent countries must radically change their way of life as well as their conception of morality, so that they will become committed to helping those that are in need. Singer begins by asking us to consider cases of famine, like that in Bengal in 1971, Singer argues that the majority of people have a moral obligation to donate all we can possibly to the famine relief, and seeing that the people were suffering tremendously and either the government nor the individuals was doing anything near what was required to help...
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...Famine, Affluence, and Morality Famine, Affluence, and Morality In this article Peter Singer’s goal is to shed light and bring awareness to the way people in the world are suffering due to poverty and natural disasters. He also explains how many people struggle to survive because they live below the poverty line, some on a dollar a day. Singer makes the point that we should be doing more to help those who are not in the position to help themselves. By using Bengal as an example of how richer countries react to a disaster Singer is able to prove his point (Singer, 1972). Singer addresses the issues of why people do not donate. He says some people have the belief that it is the government’s responsibility to provide aid to those in need. He later states that it is a joint effort between us the citizens and the government to come to the rescue of those who are suffering. We live in a selfish society that believes that we should only take care of our own and not worry about others. Reliance on aid is one reason why people do not donate because they believe the society in need will become dependent on that service (Singer, 1972). In his article he also argues that people are morally obligated to prevent as least some suffering by personally taking action. Singer says that it is in our power to prevent bad things and we can prevent the without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance. If we have the resources to do so, we the people...
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...Peter Singer – “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” Harold N. Johnson PHI 208 Elliott Crozart February 3, 2014 In the article Peter Singer gives a critique of our ordinary ways of thinking about famine relief, charity, and morality in general. With the conclusions he draws from the article, very little action is taken. The fact presented by him answers no questions and presents zero conviction. His main goal or idea is to present you with his arguments and persuade people and the government to help with famine relief in the location he describes in the article. His argument was that the current policies in place that people and the government adhere to are not moral. So his arguments admit of a partial answer, and once properly qualified may produce some conviction. His position is supported by what he recalls as reactions to the famine, he feels more can be done. Counter arguments from the text describes the Bengals as being isolated from civilization, this may be the reason the people in less rural areas and the government cannot seek more suitable aid for them. This may be true, but famine ravages areas of more notoriety and the same result usually happens. Another argument against the article was the fact that many other societies and impoverished people require the same help, so why should one charity be place in front of another? Furthermore another counter of Singers’ argument was that society, people or governments will have to radically change their moral...
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...RUNNING HEAD: FAMINE, AFFLUENCE, AND MORALITY 1 Famine, Affluence, and Morality Keith Campbell PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor Ronald Davenport June 30, 2013 FAMINE, AFFLUENCE, AND MORALITY 2 Peter Singer argues what the moral implications of any situation like this and how people all around the world sit back watching while little is being done to help, and many of innocent people die without a care in the world. While we all know people dying from starvation is bad, the moral thing to do is help as long as it does not cause harm to others, why should we sit back and do nothing. The goal in this article is to get people all around the world to realize the magnitude of the issues that people are dying of things that we at home take for granted, such as, the lack of food, shelter, and medical care. These things are vital to the survival of humans no matter where they live and what the state of their government is in. Singer also argues how affluent nations respond to situations such as the one in Bengal and presents us with a view of the moral issues at hand. The first counter argument is that according to Singer, (1971) “the view that numbers do make a difference”. This view implies that a wealthy person donates five dollars to help those suffering in Bengal the money would add up if everyone gave this amount. This would...
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...Whose Job is Famine Relief? PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning December 12, 2012 Everyday on television one will view several commercials about giving to another country, to help the starving children. When Peter Singer wrote his article in 1971“Famine, Affluence and Morality” he was able to give a disastrous review of what readers may ordinarily think about different things such as charity and famine relief and if it is moral. Why is there so much famine around the world? Some put blame on lack of food and shelter with no medical care. Others believe that if there was a population control put in place that this perhaps would solve the issue of famine, with as long as these severely poor countries are still giving birth to children, famine becomes a vicious circle. Is it really the obligations of those who live in wealthier countries to support those in other countries? Should these countries make sure their own people are taken care of first? This is the argument that Mr. Singer presents in his paper. One has the moral obligation is to help others in need whether it be a cup of coffee or assisting in drilling a well for water and no matter if they are next door or across the world. With three different premises and a conclusion Singer argues for relief. The first of the three premises is understood when Singer said “that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter and medical care are bad” (Singer, 1972, pg. 231). The next of these three premises...
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...Singer’s Moral Guilt T PHI 208 January 7, 2013 Peter Singer’s goal in “Famine, Affluence and Morality” was to try and to get people all around the world to realize that they, as human beings, have a moral responsibility to help other human beings in need if they can. He argues that the way we view moral issues and our moral conceptual schemes need to be altered, and in fact the whole way in which our society takes our way of life for granted. Peter Singer’s argument is that “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it”. (Singer, 1972). He believes that everyone in similar circumstances as himself should give as much as possible, up to the point that they might also be at risk of poverty themselves. He argues that if everyone in society all across the world did this, that the world would not only solve the Bengal crisis, but would also end world hunger all together. That also by not contributing to helping people suffering from tragedies we are not being morally responsible as a race to our “global village”. Counter points to Peter Singer’s argument that he makes are as follows: First he states that the view that he has taken on the Bengal crisis and world hunger may seem “too drastic a revision of our moral scheme”. (Singer, 1972). That in fact people would not judge other people in the way that he suggests they should, that they would save their judgment...
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...Famine Affluence and Morality Tammy Blankenship PHI Ethics and Moral Reasoning Christopher Ruth September 1, 2013 When reading the paper by Peter Singer Famine, Affluence and Morality, you are pulled in with the first sentence “People are dying in East Bengal from lack of food, shelter and medical care.” You are instantly searching your brain on how to fix the problem in East Berlin. As you read further down the page he tells you that it is the” decision and actions of humans beings that can prevent this kind of suffering” The goal of Singer’s Paper is to bring awareness to the hungry in other countries. He also wants to make you aware of what other nations donate to the dying in East Bengal. However, his main point is that the decisions and actions of other countries and humans that are willing to help can prevent this tragedy in East Bengal. Singer’s main argument in the paper is that humans’ suffering from starvation is bad and we could improve the world if we could improve these issues. Singer explains several counter arguments in his essay. The first one is, or moral conceptual scheme the way people in relatively affluent countries react to situation like the one in Bengal. With this first moral conceptual, he is stating that life in our society is being taken for granted and our moral compass needs to be altered. The second moral conceptual is that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter and medical care is bad. With this argument is using our moral compass...
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...Arguments of Peter Singer PHI200: Mind and Machine (ABT1315A) April 19, 2013 Singer’s goal in the article “Famine, Affluence and Morality” is to get people to think differently about famine relief, charity, and morality. These are key issues that people need to be more aware of and act on them. People who are financially stable and well off should take more of an active role by giving more. They should feel obligated in helping those in need. There are many people suffering severely, those who can help are doing nothing. People should be more willing to give help rather than being obtuse & self-centered. Singer argues it is wrong for a person to suffer from homelessness, hunger, or lack of medical attention. These needs are essential in life and without them can alimentally lead to one’s death. Another argument Singer gives is if a person is wealthy, they are more than capable to help others financially. They need to feel obligated to do so. Instead of a person spending money on extras and materialistic items for themselves, they should donate that money to the poor. The money should help with necessities for the poor and uplift them. On the same point he points out, one should not sacrifice if it would put them in harm’s way. Singer’s concept of marginal utility is that one should give as much as possible to the unfortunate; it should never create a hardship to the giver. This would be doing more harm than good. When a person contributes to the poor...
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...Famine, Affluence, and Morality: To Give or Not to Give PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instuctor: Noel Sauer October 14, 2013 With his focus on the state of the people in Bengal, India, Peter Singer gives us (in his opinions) the ways in which the inevitable, non-unavoidable death and suffering that is taking place there can be stopped. In his article, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Singer draws the conclusion that if we not only has individuals, but as a government [as a whole] would do our parts, the suffering of these individuals would greatly be reduced. In this summary report, I will try to point out his arguments for immediate help for this nation and give a personal response of this article and his arguments. In his article, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Singer’s goal is to get us the people of an affluent countries to understand and accept his conclusion that with help from us from anyone, the people of Bengal, India will survive and our moral ethical duties would be satisfied. From the beginning of this article, Singer tries to paint the picture of what is exactly going on in Bengal. He clearly and simply states "people are all dying in East Bengal from lack of food, shelter, and medical care" (Singer, 1972). Singer believes and tries to get us to believe that with help from other individuals and countries the people of Bengal will survive. He points out that in order for the nine million “refugees” to live at the very least a year the estimated amount...
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...sheltering. Peter Singer suggests different arguments that he believes should reduce the lack thereof in certain areas of the world. He counter argues the issues that were address in the article providing detail information of why there are considered invalid. However, Singer demands change from individuals who are not willingly to adapt to the new principle of producing wealthy and profitable countries. Explain Singer’s goal in this article, and then present his argument in relation to this issue. Zarri stated, (as cited in Singer, 207, p.505) that Singer’s goal in “Famine, Affluence and Morality” is to present the argument that individuals who live in affluent counties should drastically change their views of life and their notion of principles so that they will develop a form of loyalty to helping assisting those who reside in third world countries” (Zarri 2012),. He began his argument by focusing on the deprivation issue Bengal had in 1971, where people were dying from starvation, proper sheltering and limited medical care. According to Singer (1972), he constitutes his argument with two principles: “Suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad and that if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening” (pp.229-243), and it causes no sacrifice of anything that is morally important, then we should do it. Explain three counter-arguments to Singer’s position that he addresses in the article, and then indicate Singer’s responses to...
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...“Americans donated approximately 2% of disposable income to charity in 2014, a percentage which has not changed significantly in decades, regardless of the strength of the economy.” This is a deplorable amount considering the US has one of the highest disposable incomes per citizen. In Peter Singer’s essays “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” and “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” he makes the argument that people are morally obligated to help someone as long as they are not put in a morally compromising position. Singer’s argument is valid because people have the means to help others they just feel like they have to keep up with the latest trends. If people were to donate a portion of the money they spent on luxuries each month then the amount of suffering people who are not able to provide for themselves would dissipate....
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...Famine, Affluence, and Morality Terry Simmons PHI 208 Instructor: Stephen Carter January 28, 2013 Famine, Affluence, and Morality Peter Singer opens his argument by introducing the reader to a famine in Bengal setting up his first premise stating “suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad”. (Singer, 1972) Singer elaborates to say this is merely one point of view and that some “people can hold all sorts of eccentric positions, and perhaps from some of them it would not follow that death by starvation is in itself bad.” (Singer, 1972) He continues to say that for this discussion it will be assumed all accept the above argument. The next argument continues with “If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it” (Singer, 1972). Singer gives an example of what this would entail, “if I am walking past a shallow pond and see a child drowning in it, I ought to wade in and pull the child out. This will mean getting my clothes muddy, but this is insignificant, while the death of the child would presumably be a very bad thing.” (Singer, 1972) He then points out that there are flaws in our way of thinking (Singer, 1972). The socially acceptable standard is that we would offer help to one who is physically near us, simply because of the close proximity. The flaw lies in the fact that we are less motivated to help someone who is further...
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...Peter Singer – “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” Dora Crawford Prof. David Tredinnick 12/19/2012 When it comes to the article "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" mostly argues about not one but more than several things. In some point most people can agree with his arguments unlike others whom may not see his point of view. One of these arguments was lack of food. This was brought up or inspired by the starvation of Bangladesh his main focus was that if one can use one's wealth to reduce suffering for example, by aiding famine-relief efforts without any significant reduction in the well-being of oneself or others, it is immoral not to do so. According to Singer, such inaction is clearly immoral. If a child is drowning in a shallow pond and someone can save it but chooses not to; nor does placing greater geographical distance between the person in need and the potential helper reduce the latter's moral obligations. “It makes no difference whether the person I can help is a neighbor's child ten yards away from me or a Bengali whose name I shall never know, ten thousand miles away. The moral point of view requires us to look beyond the interests of our own society. Previously, this may hardly have been feasible, but it is quite feasible now. From the moral point of view, the prevention of the starvation of millions of people outside our society must be considered at least as pressing as the upholding of property norms within our society.” Singers main...
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...Famine, Affluence, and Morality PHI 208 September 2, 2013 Famine, Affluence, and Morality Peter Singer’s article, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”, is both simplistic and unrealistic. Throughout this article Singer compares the ability to give to relief funds to a situation of coming upon a drowning child. Singer mentions arguments against giving to relief funds and then debunks the logic. Many feel the idea of giving to another country seems wrong when we have so many in close proximity to us, that also need help. As Signer said, the relief need of places such a Bengal is far worse than what we have in the United States. Any of Singer’s attempts to change the views of charity vs. duty seemed very radicle. To say we all have an obligation to assist in every situation is absurd. Everyone can agree that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care is bad. If we have the power to prevent these bad things, are we not obligated to sacrifice everything we can to do so? This seems clear that morally we are obligated to prevent things we have the power to prevent. Yet there are so many situations that people make exceptions on and where morality and reason is challenged. Singer gives a scenario, a child drowning in a pond; you sacrifice the $70 worth of clothes that you are wearing to save the child. Then he says child in Bengal is in need of food, shelter, medical care, and $70 would go a long way for this child to also save its life. Yet people are less...
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