W7- Singer Famine & Affluence

Question 1

Effective Altruist

Answer 1

A philosophy with utilitarian foundation that applies evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to benefit others

Question 2

Marginal Utility

Answer 2

the point at which donating more would cause more suffering to the donor than the beneficiary
Eg: we should give until we are near to the circumstance of the Bengali refugee

Question 3

Singers Argument

Answer 3

the way people in affluent countries react to a situation like that in Bengal can’t be justified – the way we look at moral issues and our moral conceptual scheme needs to be altered the way of life that has come to be taken for granted in our society must be changed

Question 4

Singers 3 points

Answer 4

1. Lack of food + shelter + medicine is bad
2. If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it.
   o Eg: getting wet to save a drowning child.
   It would be in our power thus to prevent this bad thing.
3. We can prevent it without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance.

Question 5

Singers conclusion

Answer 5

only way to prevent lack of food + shelter without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance is to give maximally up until the point of marginal utility - point at which we would cause more suffering to ourselves were we to donate more.

Question 6

Objection to singer

Answer 6

1.Lowering society to marginal utility + close to destitution would be extremely physiologically distressing to the individual which is not desirable
Rather than aiming to make society flourish, lowering society to the circumstance of a Bengali refugee seems to be detrimental to the individual + social progress

Question 7

Rebuttal of objection

Answer 7

1. It’s essential to give to them because without a donor’s contributions and international charity organisations, these people in need may otherwise not survive.
   o Counties battling civil war, perpetual poverty + structural inequalities don’t have the welfare system capable of supporting their people
   Any contribution is an impactful one. $15 relative to them is significant, could feed multiple people