Chapter 8 Your Child and the Children of others By: Sami Gordon and Alexis Mason

Summary In this chapter Singer discusses cases in which parents prioritize the lives of others over their own children. He questions whether in doing so, they fail to complete their parental duties.

Main Argument Are there times when our obligation to others is equal to or greater than that to our family? –In helping other children we can fail to be an effective parent. –We fail to care for other children because we spoil our own. What is considered spoiling your children? Paying too much for education? Singer believes we need to set our charity standards lower in order to draw more people to meet them. (P. 137)

Conclusions The conflict between being an ideal parent and acting on the idea that all human life is of equal value, is real and irresolvable. (P. 139) Singer believes that no principle of obligation is going to be widely accepted unless it recognizes that parents will and should love their own children more then the children of strangers, and so will meet the basic needs of their children before they meet the needs of strangers. Still parents are not justified in providing luxuries for their children ahead of basic needs of others.

Cases Esther Greenwood Zell Kravinsky Paul Farmer Renate Naumann

Quotes “People would say, That’s fine, you can be reckless in your own life, but you shouldn’t do that to your children.” -Chuck Collins (p. 138) “How can people not care, erase, not remember?” -Farmer (p. 133) “It seems crystal clear that I should be giving all my money away and donating all my time and charity.” -Kravinsky (p. 131)

Discussion Questions What do you think is a parents duty in extreme circumstances such as that of Esther Greenwood? What would you do? Is the inability to love other children as you love your own “a failure of empathy” (p. 134) or human nature? If you were Kravinsky would you have given your kidney? Do you value your life more than four thousand times that of a stranger?