Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Encyclopedia
"Famine, Affluence, and Morality" is an essay
written by Peter Singer
in 1971
and published in Philosophy and Public Affairs
in 1972
. It argues that affluent persons are morally
obligated to donate far more resources to humanitarian
causes than is considered normal in Western culture
s. The essay was inspired by the starvation
of Bangladesh Liberation War
refugee
s, and uses their situation as an example, although Singer's argument is general in scope. The essay is anthologized widely as an example of Western ethical thinking.
efforts — without any significant reduction in the well-being of oneself or others, it is immoral not to do so. According to Singer, such inaction is clearly immoral if a child is drowning in a shallow pond and someone can save it but chooses not to; nor does placing greater geographical distance between the person in need and the potential helper reduce the latter's moral obligations:
The affluent, says Singer, are consistently guilty of failing to recognise this, having large amounts of surplus wealth that they do not use to aid humanitarian projects in developing nation
s.
Here is the thrust of Singer's argument:
criticises Singer's essay in the article 'On the Supposed Obligation to Relieve Famine'. A common criticism of Singer's essay is the demandingness objection.
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
written by Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
in 1971
1971 in literature
The year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Destiny Waltz by Gerda Charles wins the UK's first Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.-New books:*Hiroshi Aramata - Teito Monogatari...
and published in Philosophy and Public Affairs
Philosophy and Public Affairs
Philosophy and Public Affairs is a quarterly journal published by Blackwell Publishing. The journal publishes philosophical articles on legal, social, and political issues, but welcomes philosophically inclined writers from various disciplines, such as law, political science, economics, and...
in 1972
1972 in literature
The year 1972 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Fiction:*Richard Adams - Watership Down*Jorge Amado - Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra *Martin Amis - The Rachel Papers...
. It argues that affluent persons are morally
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
obligated to donate far more resources to humanitarian
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
causes than is considered normal in Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
s. The essay was inspired by the starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
of Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s, and uses their situation as an example, although Singer's argument is general in scope. The essay is anthologized widely as an example of Western ethical thinking.
Précis
One of the core arguments of this essay is that, if one can use one's wealth to reduce suffering — for example, by aiding famine-reliefFamine relief
Famine relief is an organized effort to reduce starvation in a region in which there is famine. A famine is a phenomenon in which a large proportion of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common...
efforts — without any significant reduction in the well-being of oneself or others, it is immoral not to do so. According to Singer, such inaction is clearly immoral if a child is drowning in a shallow pond and someone can save it but chooses not to; nor does placing greater geographical distance between the person in need and the potential helper reduce the latter's moral obligations:
It makes no difference whether the person I can help is a neighbor's child ten yards away from me or a BengaliBengali peopleThe Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
whose name I shall never know, ten thousand miles away. [...] The moral point of view requires us to look beyond the interests of our own society. Previously [...], this may hardly have been feasible, but it is quite feasible now. From the moral point of view, the prevention of the starvation of millions of people outside our society must be considered at least as pressing as the upholding of property norms within our society.
The affluent, says Singer, are consistently guilty of failing to recognise this, having large amounts of surplus wealth that they do not use to aid humanitarian projects in developing nation
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
s.
Here is the thrust of Singer's argument:
- "Suffering and death from lack of food, shelter and medical care are bad".
- "If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, then we ought, morally, to do it".
- "It makes no moral difference whether the person I can help is a neighbour's child ten yards from me or a Bengali whose name I shall never know, ten thousand miles away".
- "The principle makes no distinction between cases in which I am the only person who could possibly do anything and cases in which I am just one among millions in the same position".
Criticism
John KekesJohn Kekes
John Kekes is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University at Albany . He received his Ph.D...
criticises Singer's essay in the article 'On the Supposed Obligation to Relieve Famine'. A common criticism of Singer's essay is the demandingness objection.
Quotations
- "[N]either our distance from a preventable evil nor the number of other people who, in respect to that evil, are in the same situation as we are, lessens our obligation to mitigate or prevent that evil."
- "[I]f 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."
- "People do not feel in any way ashamed or guilty about spending money on new clothes or a new car instead of giving it to famine relief. (Indeed, the alternative does not occur to them.) This way of looking at the matter cannot be justified. When we buy new clothes not to keep ourselves warm but to look 'well-dressed' we are not providing for any important need."
See also
- Living High and Letting DieLiving High and Letting DieLiving High and Letting Die: Our Illusion of Innocence ISBN 0-19-510859-0 is a philosophical book by Peter K. Unger, published in 1996. Inspired by Peter Singer's 1971 essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," Unger argues that for people in the developed world to live morally, they are morally...
- The Demandingness ObjectionThe Demandingness ObjectionThe demandingness objection is a common argument raised against utilitarianism and other consequentialist ethical theories. The consequentialist requirement that we maximise the good impartially seems to this objection to require us to perform acts that we would normally consider optional.For...
- The Life You Can SaveThe Life You Can SaveThe Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty is a 2009 non-fiction book written by Australian philosopher Peter Singer. In it, Singer argues that citizens of affluent nations are behaving immorally if they do not act to end the poverty they know to exist in developing nations.The book...