Philosophy of Charity
Charity, Moral, and the Condition of Our World
When it comes to charity, morality, and concern for one another, humans tend to vary drastically on how we feel and act depending on the circumstance and the individual. What makes this issue so complex is the fact that we are naturally set to want to help one another and be kind (in most cases) while at the same time being naturally focused on the survival and wellbeing of ourselves and loved ones over most other things. These natural settings, of course, are all influenced by the individual’s life situation. For example, a person with no family may be more willing, if willing at all, than a person with three kids to run into a burning building to save a random stranger from apparent death. What keeps us from helping others and what makes us help others is different for every individual. Although these differences may vary incredibly, there tends to be a shared feeling of the “greater good” that most experience.
I do not believe that anyone is required to give money to charity or to work in a soup kitchen but I do believe in this quote from Singer, he says “If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable importance, we ought morally to do it.” It is a relatively simple concept that I believe we all have engrained in us. If you are walking down the road and someone falls and hits their head right in front of you, mostly anyone is going to stop and see if the person needs assistance. This innate behavior we have is what I believe keeps us from being entirely selfish creatures. On that note though, I would like to keep in mind that this fact does not take away from the bigger picture of the world. This is a dog eat dog world where things keep moving and people need to keep eating. If someone is struggling to meet their own ends meet, I do not believe they have any moral obligations to help anyone else out. It is just the reality of our condition. But
When it comes to charity, morality, and concern for one another, humans tend to vary drastically on how we feel and act depending on the circumstance and the individual. What makes this issue so complex is the fact that we are naturally set to want to help one another and be kind (in most cases) while at the same time being naturally focused on the survival and wellbeing of ourselves and loved ones over most other things. These natural settings, of course, are all influenced by the individual’s life situation. For example, a person with no family may be more willing, if willing at all, than a person with three kids to run into a burning building to save a random stranger from apparent death. What keeps us from helping others and what makes us help others is different for every individual. Although these differences may vary incredibly, there tends to be a shared feeling of the “greater good” that most experience.
I do not believe that anyone is required to give money to charity or to work in a soup kitchen but I do believe in this quote from Singer, he says “If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable importance, we ought morally to do it.” It is a relatively simple concept that I believe we all have engrained in us. If you are walking down the road and someone falls and hits their head right in front of you, mostly anyone is going to stop and see if the person needs assistance. This innate behavior we have is what I believe keeps us from being entirely selfish creatures. On that note though, I would like to keep in mind that this fact does not take away from the bigger picture of the world. This is a dog eat dog world where things keep moving and people need to keep eating. If someone is struggling to meet their own ends meet, I do not believe they have any moral obligations to help anyone else out. It is just the reality of our condition. But