Singer calculates that “$200 in donations would help a sickly 2-year-old transform into a healthy 6-year-old” (Singer 2). No one would say that spending money to help a child in need is wasteful; however, preserving the child’s life would not save it from poverty. The child would be alive, but it would still grow up poor and uneducated, and, in all likelihood, its children would be the same. Singer’s solution for poverty is, in all actuality, not a solution at all. His ideas would be great for lowering the fatality rate due to malnourishment or diseases, but he gives no solution to adequately deliver the world from poverty. Donating to children-saving charities, while honorable, does not do much in fixing the problem at hand, worldwide…
In his article, “Famine, Affluence and Morality”, philosopher Peter Singer observes that that there are millions of people around the world who are leading misery lives and suffering death, because of famine , war, lack of shelter, and adequate medical care. He states that although rich nations have contributed great sums of money for these causes, they are still not giving enough in comparison to their Gross National Product (GNP). He points out that many nations only contributes about one percent of their GNP.…
More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. We cross paths everyday with people struggling to pay bills and put food on the table and our completely oblivious to their struggles, because we do not see poverty unless it blatantly obvious. As Diana George says in "Changing the face of poverty," there are many aspects of poverty that are misrepresented through heart breaking photos, by constructing poverty as an individual problem that can be dealt with on an individual basis, and by myths about poverty; poverty needs not to be looked at in the worst of the worst situations, all of those 16 million children need to be represented.…
“It is a tragic mix-up when the United States spends $500,000 for every enemy soldier killed, and only $53 annually on the victims of poverty”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This fact indicates how poverty is an issue that needs more attention because of it’s significant impact on the people in the world. Peter Singer, an Australian humanist and philosopher, addresses the dilemma of poverty world-wide in his essay, The Singer Solution to Poverty. Singer argues how it is wrong for an individual to live well without giving substantial amounts of money to help people who are hungry, malnourished, and dying from easily treatable illnesses. In the matter of defending and qualifying Singer’s argument, people should be more aware of the issue of poverty.…
In Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” he argues that when people abroad are suffering or dying from lack of food, shelter or medicine, it is wrong for people here to spend money on morally unimportant things rather than giving money to help (Hughes). This means that we have a moral obligation to do what we can to alleviate the stress of poverty abroad if it does not do any harm to us helping them. If we are able to benefit people abroad, we should do so. Food, shelter, and quality healthcare are things that should be seen as basic necessities; therefore, not only do we have a moral obligation to help those abroad in need, but we should also have the want to help those in need. Although Singer asserts this claim, he does identify…
Virtue ethics is a theory used to make moral decisions. It does not rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the individuals themselves. Aristotle is the main philosopher of Virtue Ethic. Aristotle’s writings have been read more or less continuously since ancient times, and his ethical treatises continue to influence philosophers working today.…
Virtue Ethics as a “different approach to morality” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 124), was distinguished from the other ethical theories as one that “is concerned with those traits of character that make one a good person” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 125). In contrast with the other ethical theories that “are concerned with how we determined what is the right things to do” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 124), “virtue ethics asks how we ought to be” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 125).…
Based on the article by Peter Singer entitled Famine, Affluence, and Morality, he attempts to move us to do more for charities and gives one astounding example. He uses starving children in Bengali and a drowning child.…
America does not need to aid in the crisis in Darfur because we need to start worrying about our own problems instead of other countries issues. The United States has an enormous homeless population that our country should be more focused on. “The National Law Center on…
17.3 I agree with Aristotle’s argument and conclusion that being virtuous person contributes so much to someone’s life with regards to going well. The reason for this is that our ultimate goal ought to be self-sufficient. That is; Aristotle believed that the good of something should not be limited to instrumental values e.g. money and fame. The goal of life, according to Aristotle, should be about self-sufficiency, which means that a person needs to possess it all and make it worth for our lives. The other explanation is the rationality of doing something, which is something that sets human being apart from all the other living and non-living things. The ultimate rationality tends to consist of our daily reasoning power.…
The character Emily, from “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and the Narrator, from “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman were both young women from similar time periods. Their belief system reflected the era in which they lived. Emily lived in a post-civil war mansion that was dilapidated, she was the unmarried daughter of a once very influential member of the community. At one time, her family had money, but that was no longer the case and her home disclosed this fact. Unlike the Narrator’s life, she was married to a well-respected physician, who was in good standing within their community, suggesting an above average income as they could afford to summer in a colonial mansion, even though it was somewhat rundown. The lives of both these characters were oppressed in different ways, slowly diminishing each woman’s mental capacity over time, causing each of them extreme emotional anguish, leading…
People struggle to survive every day in poverty. People who are less fortunate do not feel like they have freedom of justice. A lot of the people in our society just simply do not care about the people who are in need. Of course we do have our churches and charities who lend a helping hand, but what about the people who are not necessarily poor, like the orphanages or women's shelters. In a worldly view we have children who are not able to attend school and people who cannot work so they cannot provide for their families. A lot of third world countries are poor due to their corrupt governments who take from them and do not give back. Americans are spoiled. Some of us even suffer from obesity. We tend to take advantage of just how great the American lifestyle is, being able to work, go to school, have fresh clean water and food available etc. For those who are less fortunate here in America there is hope because we have a government that provides for them, versus those who do not have helpful government. To end hunger and poverty, I believe that people must simply care ENOUGH to REALLY HELP those in need. If everyone cared about their less fortunate neighbor and really helped them to the best of their ability, then they would be free from the binds of poverty. Throughout history, Greed has driven people to evil and hatred because the love of money is the root of all evil. “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive…
Did you know that many people around the world are suffering due to lack of resources within their countries? Some wealthier people and nations decide not to help these less fortunate people as they would rather spend money on frivolous things and think that it’s not their obligation. I believe that man has a moral obligation to help those less fortunate than him, though I believe that it is not morally right to only help those who are less fortunate just to make you feel like a better person.…
Everyday millions of children around the world fight for survival due to starvation, lack of shelter, and proper healthcare. World poverty increases significantly daily, and innocent children lives are being affected and destroyed. The fact that the child cannot address their world poverty issue hands on, should encourage people to give back to communities that are less fortunate. In “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” Peter Singers argues, that people main priorities are luxury items instead of supporting charitable agencies that are fighting against world poverty. Many individuals follow the saying “Keeping up with the Joneses” . Which means they try to live a lavish lifestyle, but really forget about the bigger picture, and that’s helping children who struggles to get a meal daily. Singer is right we should help support charitable agencies, but in order for that to happen people should be more open-minded about donating, and put away their fancy lifestyle and luxury items.…
Poverty in America is a form of murder to the weakest and most innocent of our society. Struggling parents are more apt to take their frustrations out on their children when they are faced with the stress of mounting bills, inadequate housing, or lack of stable and supportive employment. In the last 10 years here in America, there have been well over 20,000 children who have been murdered as a direct result of living in an impoverished home. The totals are devastating when compared to the fact that fewer soldiers have died in the entire span of the war in Afghanistan. More than 75% of these children are under the age of four. Over half of them are under the age of one. (Ref: Childhelp.org)…