Peter Singer, an Australian moral philosopher, opposes to the way people perceive and deal with poverty, famine and the sufferance of the less fortunate. In his essay “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”, he argues that we are failing to perform our moral duties insofar as we live lives of relative luxury while others are suffering and dying due to diseases, famine. He believes that it’s possible to reduce the pain and the sufferance of people and to avoid it if we give up our nonessentials. He states…
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During the 1970s Peter Singer wrote Famine, Affluence and Morality, which covered Singer’s thoughts on how we should treat those starving in poverty stricken countries. He outlined what John Arthur later called the greater moral evil rule. That is we should do everything we can to stop something bad from happening “without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance.” Taken at its strongest degree this would mean giving away everything you have until you are only just better off than those…
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“Famine, Affluence, and Morality” name PHI208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning instructor date Peter Singer’s goal in “Famine, Affluence, and Morality was to convince people that the people as well as the governments should help with famine relief, primarily in East Bengal. Peter Singer wanted to let everyone know that the way that they deal with disasters is "morally unjustified". Mr. Singer’s three counter-arguments I think are that people from Bengali are far removed…
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Peter Singer’s argument on international aid requires the use of several premises and a single conclusion. Premise 1 states “that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad” (“Famine, Affluence, and Morality” 231). The negative effects of starvation (e.g., suffering and death) are major evils which could be reduced, if not averted in its entirety. Singer is largely unconcerned with defending the validity of this premise as he believes most people will accept the notion…
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McCullough PHI 200 Mind and Machine Week 2 Assignment Instructor: Jack Isbell September 24, 2012 In the article “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” author Peter Singer believes that people who are wealthy should not spend money on unneeded objects while there are people starving in the world. Singer believes that people who are able to give money to the less fortunate, poverty and half-starving should do it to help them escape being poor. He also states…
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Peter Singer-“Famine, Affluence, and Morality” In the article, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” written by Peter Singer, he elaborates on his views of the East Bengal emergency that took place in 1971. This assignment will discuss Singer’s goal and arguments supporting his position. Provide three counter-arguments addressed by Singer. Define his concept of marginal utility and how it relates to his argument. Then, explain how the ideas of duty and charity are different in Singer’s proposed…
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In response to Peter Singer’s “Affluence, Famine, and Morality” Richard Arneson wrote "What Do We Owe Distant Needy Strangers?" In a short paragraph from this article Arneson states a view of common-sense when dealing with the problems discussed in Singer’s article. The common-sense view is simply a thought process that one should help others regardless of distance. But Arneson also says that the help “does not include any quantification of the extent.” So it would be safe to say that Arneson is…
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1600 words Hunger and diseases related to malnutrition, subsequently direct consequences of poverty, have caused 45% of deaths in children under five; 3.1 million children each year, and around 8,500 children per day (The Hunger Project, 2014). Peter Singer would argue that morally, it is vital that residents of developed countries provide their services to benefit the poor. If it is in the power of a nation to provide services towards remedying poverty and hunger, such as charity or other kinds of…
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Christal Anderson PHI208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Julie Pedersen Peter Singer September 30, 2013 Singer’s overall goal was to inform us about things that we can help contribute to. He was trying to explain the morality of the world. For example he stated, “The decisions and actions of human beings can prevent this kind of suffering. Unfortunately, human beings have not made the necessary decisions. At the individual level, people have, with very few exceptions, not responded to the situation…
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Peter Singer’s Ethics Reviewed PHI 103 Informal Logic Instructor Mark Balto November 17, 2014 Greed versus Morality Singer’s article, famine, affluence, and morality uncover the reality of a person’s choice of greed or morals. The premise is a child in a shallow pond in distress with no parent or guardian in sight. An adult witnesses this distress and has to decide between ruining his/her expensive shoes and saving the child. This dilemma for most is simple, rescue the child. However…
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