Altruism In The Most Good You Can Do By Peter Singer

Riddled with numerous contradictions, Peter Singer’s book on effective altruism has critics and the public questioning the points he argues. In particular, Singer leaves a “grey area” in the way he chooses to articulate explanations and examples of effective altruism. Peter Singer’s generalization of emotional altruists, or “warm glowers”, lacks an explanation or consideration for individuals who do not fall into his categories of effective altruists who had the education, finances, or time to make further impactful decisions. In this paper, I will argue that Singer fails to consider altruists who may fall in between the spectrum of his examples of emotional altruists and effective altruists. In his recent book, “The Most Good You Can Do:
Wanting to do good for others while having to think on one’s feet could also be seen as an ethical way of living if a person is motivated by compassion and empathy for others. One could even argue that this is a form of rationalization and that these individuals are indeed doing the most good they can do at a certain place in time. Singer contradicts himself when he explains that he “…emphasized what is distinctive about effective altruism and sought to show how the new movement broadens the range of possibility for ethical living” (180). However, he fails to address the possibility of people in careers that value intuitive abilities as being effective altruists who do indeed lead ethical lives. An example of such possibility are people involved in health care, many of whom are considered just as much about strangers as they are about their own families. While doing an internship at a local hospital, I recall a powerful moment in which my manager, a certified registered nurse and business administrator, set aside her notes from a meeting and grabbed her stethoscope with no hesitation to respond to a code blue. A code blue is the term for a patient who is currently undergoing cardiac or respiratory arrest. As I watched her rush to a nearby department to help, I realized how passionate she was about her job and how quickly she thought on her feet. I thought that at that moment she was being more effective in helping others than she had if she had continued to file away her minutes from her meeting. This also showed that she didn’t see her position as manager as being a chance for higher pay or recognition, but for the sole purpose that she is passionate about the workings of a hospital. Careers that are highly centered around care and aid for others tend to hire empathetic