Description of the Essay Process I chose to respond to Peter Singer’s arguments from Examined Life: Excursions with Contemporary Thinkers (Taylor, (ed.) 2009), regarding ethics and consumerism. I found his argument to be thought-provoking and relevant in America’s generally consumeristic standard of living. I can relate to his idea that a certain degree of our morality is tied to our choices in spending, and how if we are conscious of others who need aid, we should use the means we have available
Words: 1097 - Pages: 5
Singer begins his article by stressing the famine suffering which is currently taking place in East Bengal. Singer starts his argument by imposing the reader to accept the moral premises which are "that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad," and "that if it is in our power to prevent it from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it" (Singer, Famine pg.599). Singer then goes on to exploit a broad-based
Words: 1511 - Pages: 7
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
Words: 855 - Pages: 4
In Peter Singer’s article “Singers Solution to World Poverty” suggest that U.S. citizens give away the majority of their dispensable income in order to end global suffering. Singer uses some extreme methods in order to achieve his goal of getting readers to truly believe in his ideas and change their values and lifestyles. Singer gathers his information and unique capabilities to determine the voice in this article and rewrite the tone being given in the conversation. The author’s main point is that
Words: 1248 - Pages: 5
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
Words: 1497 - Pages: 6
Argument Analysis Two In Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”, he is observing how there are many people in our world suffering, and argues what morality says one should do about this. After going into the context of the situations at hand with millions of people living on unsustainable incomes etc., Singer proposes two principles, the strongest one he favors and a weaker one he uses as a backup. He agrees with the idea that morally one should always do whatever would prevent
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
Peter Singer, in his essay “Equality for Animals” argues, “If animals count in their own right, our use of animals for food becomes questionable.” Barbara Kingsolver, in her essay “You Can’t Run away on Harvest Day”, defends against the argument about not eating meat because it’s harming a life. Indicating an estimate, “67 million birds die each year from pesticide exposure”, she points out: “To believe we can live without taking life is delusional.” Gary Steiner, in his essay “Animal, Vegetable
Words: 1641 - Pages: 7
Logic: Peter Singer An Evaluation of Singer Peter Singer questions our conception of equality as it relates to the human species and other animal species. He fundamentally argues that, “The principle of the equality of human beings is not a description of an alleged actual equality among humans: it is a prescription of how we should treat humans.” The statement, revealing Singer’s essential argument, also comprises two approaches we might take towards establishing equality among living things
Words: 1333 - Pages: 6
“most domesticated animals cannot survive the wild” (Pollan 310) and “without us eating them, they simply wouldn’t exist at all.” (Pollan 310) Furthermore, he makes an attempt to refute Peter Singer’s cultural and philosophical affirmations about the “exploitation of non-humans,” (Pollan 309) especially when Singer endeavors to show the “speciest” mentality (as Pollan calls it) that our society has towards non-humans, thus raising the question on whether the “principle of equality” (Pollan 308) can
Words: 570 - Pages: 3
This view coincides with the view of Peter Singer, a moral theorist, who states we should help those in absolute poverty before helping those in relative poverty. To state his view clearly and simply, he believes that even though our brothers and sisters at home are suffering, we need to help
Words: 1804 - Pages: 8
