Peter Singer the man who wrote the famous proposal "The Singer Solution to World Poverty" talks about donating money to charity rather than spending it on luxuries to save lives. Singer explains this by stating examples of people put in a situation to sacrifice a beloved item for a child 's life. The first example talks about Dora a retired schoolteacher writing letters for illiterate people. When suddenly she gets an opportunity to obtain 1,000 dollars and all she has to do is bring a kid to a house of foreigners who are willing to adopt him. Dora brings the child, gets paid and enjoys her TV until her neighbor informs her that the foreigners really were organ peddlers. The next day Dora saves the child preventing his demise. (pg. 931) The …show more content…
Yes and no depending on how you look at it. On one hand he 's correct since we can save lives but on the other hand nobody wants to save a life since we never see it so we 're never bothered by the fact that someone is dying since it happens all the time. But put in a situation where could prevent the death most likely would but we all are technically in that situation (As Singer states on page 934) every day when we want to have a night out or buy a new couch but instead we could be using this money to save the life of a child instead of on ourselves. Most people nowadays are hard-headed and I am one of them but people like me aren 't really going to listen to this "people are dying you can do something by spending cash" that stuff just passes by my head like the wind, no cares in the world to what 's going on. Or maybe it 's just that we 're all heartless since poverty doesn 't affect us we don 't care about some children starving to death.
Peter Singer was right about the ten percent donating after all if nobody at all did anything those poor children wouldn 't be saved and the world would lose more people with a bright future ahead of them. And for actually saving a life the human population can increase; the chances of cancer being cured if one of those children grew up to be a doctor would increase and so on and so forth. It 's better to give then to give nothing at all since it could help you or your family in the far future benefiting you and your
I would have to disagree with Singer assumption that we are all trained to believe that death is always portrayed with a negative connotation, if anything many people believe that death is not the end. Whether we become angels, spirits, or reincarnations many people want have a positive perspective when they will eventually perish. Of course one could argue that beliefs like these exist in part due to the fear of death itself and expecting that we continue existing in some fashion offers provides some relief. In regards to the question, people here have already given answers that would I agree with, assuming that Mrs. Bennett wasn't embellishing her story in order to frame both her and her husband in a optimistic light, I also can believe
One article that demonstrates the significance of helping those less fortunate is Andrew Carnegie's The Gospel of Wealth. In spite of his disapproval of contributing directly to the poor out of concern about financial mismanagement, Carnegie is trying to convey a common message. We must give in order to better our society. One quote that shows this ideal is ¨In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means which by those who desire to improve may do so; to give those who desire to rise the aids by which they may rise ; to assist, but rarely or never to do all.¨(Carnegie Paragraph 2). Some articles like LifeBoat Ethics by Garret Hardin state that giving is not needed and it wont make a difference.
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.
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
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.
Yes, I would be a few hours late to work and ruin a new pair of shoes if I could save a child 's life, so why is it I don 't feel compelled to go without a new pair of shoes or donate a few hours of earnings
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
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
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.
The way singer explains this principle is through a utilitarian prospective, suggesting two viewpoints, Jeremy Bentham says “interest of every being affected by an action are to be taken into account and given the same weight as the like interests of any other being. ”(3) The second utilitarian, Henry Sidgwick, says “ the good of any one individual is of no more importance, from the point of view (if I may say so) of the Universe, than the good of any other. ”(3) Singer explains in these principles an aspect of achieving happiness and avoid pain.
Those that do lack concern generally have reasons other than because of evolution. The fact that there are charities that exist to alleviate mass suffering shows that many people do care. These charities would not exist if there were not many people donating to them. If a person does not donate, it does not automatically mean they do not care. Some people do not donate for reasons already mentioned, such as lack of money or distrust of the
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.
Singer advises people to not follow Bob’s actions. Singer wants people to redeem themselves like Dora, and donate money as much as they could. Singer believes that if everyone would only spend on necessities then people would have money to save a child’s life. Therefore, Singer’s solution to world’s poverty would be successful by adding that people could donate to their own preference of charitable organization and donate as much as they
With this added difficulty, people just decide that donating money is too much of a hassle. No one wants to search different charitable organizations to decide whom to give money to and determine if the money is going to a good cause or not. Money could be given away to people who do not deserve
Not only do these acts of kindness benefit both the giver and receiver, but more often than not, they start a chain reaction. This kindness chain can change lives, save lives, even in special circumstances. I believe that by intentionally helping others, one is making a definite impact on the world. I hope that my generation will grow together through kindness. When I was in preschool, I remember the first lessons we were taught were to keep our hands to ourselves, use kind words, and always help clean up.