I agree with the comment that Peter Singer’s argument that individuals should donate to alleviate poverty and save lives does not address the underlying structural socioeconomic causes of poverty. His argument for a redistribution of wealth on an individual basis still operates under an economic system where there is an unequal distribution of wealth. As a result, even if individuals donate money, poorer countries will always be reliant on these wealthier countries and individuals for survival resulting in an increased power imbalance. However, I also think that it is important not to disregard these contributions to people in poverty simply because they do not fix the system, as these contributions do have the power to save and improve lives…
Peter Singer is an Australian Philosopher and a Bioethics professor at Princeton University. He is the author of Animal Liberation, a book that moved many to become vegetarians, while others were offended at his suggestion that humans and animals be on the same moral plane. In September of 1999, Singer published an article in the New York Times Magazine called ‘The Singer Solution to Poverty’. In his article, Singer argues that people who have money to spare should be giving it to charities, specifically Unicef or Oxfam America. Although he has a valid point, people should donate money to the less fortunate if they can, his argument…
Have you ever thought that you are happier than many children in the world? On the other hand, they do not have enough good conditions to live and develop themselves, including poverty. How will they struggle for their lives with their small hands? They probably need our help to rescue them out of danger. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”, which is written by Peter Singer, is a solution to save children's lives. Singer persuades the reader to participate in helping children who lack food, get many diseases, and do not have good living conditions. His argument is that all of us should contribute to saving the children’s lives According to “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”, this solution totally has the ability to be done by our help; however, I am not completely persuaded that I will help children by following Single’s solution.…
Singer’s Solution to World Poverty. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” is an article by Peter Singer which presents a compelling argument for the American people to take responsibility in addressing the global poverty issue. Though Singer employs a variety of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos to strengthen his argument, Singer fails to persuade the American people to his side, instead alienating his audience due to his extreme use of pathos and a lack of adequate ethos and logos. Throughout the article,.…
To give or not to give? This is the central question brought up in “The Singer Solution To World Poverty,” an article written by utilitarian philosopher, Peter Singer. Singer’s “solution” is that Americans need to take all of their money that is not devoted to the basic requirements for life and give it to organizations that are working on saving impoverished children across the globe. In his piece, he uses two imaginary situations to draw a conclusion about the moral position of Americans who do not donate their surplus money to save the poor. In the first, a woman nearly trades a boy’s life for a material possession, and in the second, a man allows a child to be hit by a train in order to save his car. Singer compares these two concocted characters to the unwilling, selfish Americans. He uses these horrific situations to influence his audience’s emotions and make them feel guilty for not donating their extra money; Singer’s accusations make his audience question their ethics and morals by equating them to child murderers. He even goes as far as to say that in order to live a “morally decent” life, we…
In Singer’s final paragraphs, he appeals to his audience to revisit their spending habits and possibly consider donating to a cause and cut down on the luxuries. If you are financially able, he asks Americans to donate to alleviate world poverty. He believes it is the audience’s moral responsibility to save the world - and the…
He feels that have a moral obligation to help people who are suffering no matter how far away from us they are. Singer feels that the rich and the affluence have a predetermined obligation to help the poor and needy, because they already have so much. He also argues that human’s persecute of luxury over the idea of evenly distributing the basic necessities of life for everyone is just plain wrong. He defends this argument when he states, “A person who has a super abundance has obligation to the poor”. (Singer,…
Peter Singer brings to light a very important global problem, poverty, and offers an extreme solution to solve this problem. Peter Singer argues that the solution to world poverty is living simply and giving all excess household money to charities. Singer uses effective examples to get his point across, but gives an unreasonable solution. He gives the example that the failure to donate money will directly result in the death of children in need. "Whatever money you're spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away." (Singer)…
In his article “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Peter Singer outlines his argument for helping those in need in the global community. His main argument is that humans can stop suffering based on our moral decisions.1 Singer calls for the definition of ‘charity’ in our society to have moral implications. People should give governmental and privately. all need to give to charity and all at the same time.…
“The memories of his friend changed in his mind so that he could remember nothing that was wrong or foolish- only the wise and the good. He saw Antonapoulos sitting in a large chair before him. He sat tranquil and unmoving. His face was inscrutable. His mouth was wise and smiling. And his eyes were profound. He watched the things that were said to him. And in his wisdom he understood.” (McCullers,204)…
In the essay “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” author, Peter Singer, exercises his theory about everyone’s moral obligation to help world hunger. Every day people make choices, whether it be what pants to wear, what food items to buy at the store, or whether or not you donate money to those suffering. Across the world there are avoidable sufferings according to Singer as long as people do their part; “if it is in our power to prevent something very bad from happening, we ought to morally do it” (889).…
The real-world application of Singer’s argument is no doubt difficult to implement, but that cannot be considered a fault due to unreasonable demand. Personal discomfort is to be expected, as Singer’s view on moral obligations and global poverty is uncompromisingly utilitarian. Nevertheless, a minor monetary inconvenience for the affluent should be considered relatively insignificant when compared to the incalculable value of a human life. As there are no major inconsistencies to be seen in Singer’s argumentative framework as a whole, there is merit in accepting his position on the moral obligations towards the global…
Writer Peter Singer’s article “The Solution to World Poverty” develops a persuasive argument to encourage and make people understand the importance of donating to help save kids life within their means, Singer adopts a guilt-ridden tone in order to sway the audience into donating money to help the kids of Brazil. Singer achieve his purpose through the use of imagery, syntax, and rhetorical questions. Singer beings his article by describing a Brazilian film in where a homeless boy is persuade into going to an address where he will be killed for his organs however the Woman who took him there did not know about the final result for the boy instead she was more drawn into the money that she would receive. When telling the story Singer uses parenthesis…
Poverty is a state of being extremely poor. In the “What is poverty” essay it talks about the struggles of a woman that has three children and is trying to survive with little to no income. Jo Goodwin Parker describes her life living in poverty and her daily struggles to raise a family. In the essay she goes in depth and describes what goes on in her daily life. It is sad to say that Jo describes herself as dirty, smelly, and with no proper underwear on and with the stench of my rotting teeth. She talks about how she has no luxuries while being poor due to the high cost of simple things such as hot water, soap, medicine and clothing. She continues by writing that while there are government programs to help the poor, none exist in her area and if there were she has no means by which…
Giving your money to the poor or to charity organizations may sound easy enough, but in practice it is basically impossible. Peter Singer, in his recent NY Times article, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” argues that the rich should donate whatever luxuries and whatever money they don’t’ need all to the less prosperous. Many would argue both for and against such a viewpoint, and such a “solution” would require evaluation of its pros and cons before application.…