Affluence

In “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Peter Singer begins his document by stating his first argument, that people in Bengal are dying from lack of food, shelter, and medical care which is not acceptable. Now, the people in Bengal are not the only people dying from these things, however at the time that Singer was writing this, Bengal was the current problem. Now-a-days, we see this problem everywhere. When I was in Belize last January there were kids walking around barefoot and extremely skinny, all we wanted to do was help them. We have the power to prevent this from happening, so why don't we? Peter singer gives us two different levels on why we don't donate. The individual level, which states that people have not given large enough sums to relief funds, or held symbolic fasts, or done anything to provide the refugees with the things they need in order to satisfy their basic needs. The second level is the government level which says that no…

In "Children of Affluence" author and physiatrist Robert Coles discusses what children of wealthy families go through and explains that all wealthy Americans exhibit a sense of entitlement. This article is part of one of the five Pulitzer Prize-winning volumes in Children of Crisis (1967-1978). Cole is qualified to discuss such a matter for he studied the issues of children, and got hired as a professor of psychiatry, at Harvard University in medical humanities, as well he did researches. Coles…

When comparing information presented in “ ref social science book ) ..... It can be claimed that the rise of affluence in a consumer society can be linked to the creation of both more waste and more recycling. This essay will first define Bauman’s concept of a consumer society, before examining the statistical data presented by The Office of National Statistics and Defra to evidence a rise in affluence and the correlation between higher living standards and the creation of both more waste and…

Famine. Affluence, and Morality outlined the greater moral evil rule. It basically means we should do everything in our power to stop anything bad from happening without harming anything with moral importance. If we were to take this idea to the highest instinct, we would be giving everything we have away until we are like the ones we are giving to. He knew that most people would not live by this so, he created a more moderate approach. It stated “instead of buying new cars, when our old ones…

Second Argument Evaluation, Singer: Morality’s Ambivalent Behavior in the Face of Affluence In the piece “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Peter Singer puts forth his argument that “if it is in our power to prevent something very bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything else morally significant, we ought, morally, to do it,” (Cahn, 505). In his argument Singer claims that men have the moral responsibility to prevent suffering when it does not negatively impact “himself or his…

In his essay, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”, Peter Singer begins with the assumption that famine should be eradicated, based upon the generally wide held principle that the suffering created by lack of food is bad. He then sets up the general basis for his argument which is: “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” (Singer 231). From this general idea, Singer outlines the…

In this paper I will be objecting to Singer’s second premise, in Famine, Affluence, and Morality, where he argues a moral way to live by is marginal utility. The first premise Singer gives us is “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it.” (Singer 231) Basically from this he’s saying that everyone should give as much as they possibly can without making their own families suffer,…

In every country, cities, towns and villages there are two groups of people. These two groups are: the affluence and the poor. And depending on our personal and family financial background, we will be classifying in one of the two groups. Unfortunately, we do naturally find ourselves been born from a poor family background which can of course fundamentally change our perspectives and experiences about life. Sometime some unusual situation like being poor and living among affluent class can make…

Within the text of “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” Peter Singer delves into the topic of famine; and more specifically, the moral obligations people have to those who are suffering. For example, Singer focuses on the population of East Bengal, and their struggle with famine and extreme poverty. Singer proposes that with enough aid from both individuals and various governments poverty can be eradicated. Therefore the question he presents is why some people are dying, while other people are…

Everyday millions of people around the world suffer in circumstances, in which they could die from lack of proper care and resources. In Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Peter Singer acknowledges this issue facing humanity and argues for the moral obligation to give large amounts of money to those in need. Singer believes that all who are able should be giving up many, if not all of their luxuries to help give the less fortunate their necessities. I will begin by summarizing the argument that…