Unforeseen Bonds: Hardin's Rhetoric in "Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor"
Unforeseen Bonds: Hardin's Rhetoric in "Lifeboat Ethics: The
Case Against Helping The Poor"
As Andrew Kuper, a Fellow of Trinity College of Cambridge and researcher of philosophy, politics, and the modern world, once said "Since the costs to ourselves may be significant, how much ought we to sacrifice?" (Kuper, 1). A direct correspondence of such can be seen in the work of Garrett Hardin, specifically "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor," versus Peter Singer, author of "The Singer Solution To World Poverty," and Alan Durning, author of "Asking How Much Is Enough." Garret Hardin, a former professor and ecologist, argues that the wealthier nations of the world need to not allow themselves to get caught up in helping the poorer nations. The article itself was published first in Psychology Today, a popular magazine read mainly by those in the United States. The article "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor" discusses both competition for resources and resolving poverty and that's why the supporting articles make for worthy exploitation: as can be seen in the title, Singer's article deliberates a solution to poverty, and Durning's article addresses the over consumption of resources. Hardin attempts to invoke fear in his "Case Against Helping The Poor" through the use of the lifeboat and pasture metaphor, ad baculum, Red Herring appeal, an either/or fallacy, distressful diction, and catastrophically positioned and phrased juxtaposition. Hardin's article may be very compelling but that's only because it's been ornamented with a series of rhetorical strategies which become all the more apparent when assessed against the works of Singer and Durning.
Durning's straightforward and insipid article makes Hardin's lifeboat metaphor stand out even more than if one were to just read through "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor" alone. "Metaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a life boat full of comparatively rich people. In the
Case Against Helping The Poor"
As Andrew Kuper, a Fellow of Trinity College of Cambridge and researcher of philosophy, politics, and the modern world, once said "Since the costs to ourselves may be significant, how much ought we to sacrifice?" (Kuper, 1). A direct correspondence of such can be seen in the work of Garrett Hardin, specifically "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor," versus Peter Singer, author of "The Singer Solution To World Poverty," and Alan Durning, author of "Asking How Much Is Enough." Garret Hardin, a former professor and ecologist, argues that the wealthier nations of the world need to not allow themselves to get caught up in helping the poorer nations. The article itself was published first in Psychology Today, a popular magazine read mainly by those in the United States. The article "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor" discusses both competition for resources and resolving poverty and that's why the supporting articles make for worthy exploitation: as can be seen in the title, Singer's article deliberates a solution to poverty, and Durning's article addresses the over consumption of resources. Hardin attempts to invoke fear in his "Case Against Helping The Poor" through the use of the lifeboat and pasture metaphor, ad baculum, Red Herring appeal, an either/or fallacy, distressful diction, and catastrophically positioned and phrased juxtaposition. Hardin's article may be very compelling but that's only because it's been ornamented with a series of rhetorical strategies which become all the more apparent when assessed against the works of Singer and Durning.
Durning's straightforward and insipid article makes Hardin's lifeboat metaphor stand out even more than if one were to just read through "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor" alone. "Metaphorically each rich nation can be seen as a life boat full of comparatively rich people. In the
Cited: Durning, Alan. "Asking How Much Is Enough." The Anteater Reader. Ed. Ray Zimmerman and Carla Copenhaven. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007. 404-412. Hardin, Garrett. "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor." The Anteater Reader. Ed. Ray Zimmerman and Carla Copenhaven. 8th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005. 476-484. Kuper, Andrew. "More than charity: cosmopolitan alternatives to the "Singer Solution".(Debate: global poverty relief)." Ethics & International Affairs 16.1 (April 2002): 107(15). Singer, Peter. "The Singer Solution to World Poverty." The Anteater Reader. Ed. Ray Zimmerman and Carla Copenhaven. 8th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005. 500-504.