1. Peter Singer on Affluence & Global Poverty
PHIL 102, Spring 2017
Christina Hendricks
University of British Columbia
Except images licensed otherwise, this presentation is licensed CC BY 4.0

2. Two ways singer argues
Argument from a principle he thinks we will all accept (“Famine, Affluence & Morality”)
Argument from analogy (mostly in “The Singer Solution”)
If an act is morally right in this situation
It is morally right in a similar situation
Situation 1
Situation 2

3. Argument from A principle

4. Outline his argument in “Famine, Affluence, & Morality”
Conclusion: many people should be doing more to help those in need than they are.
What is the principle he bases his argument on?
What other premises are there?

5. evaluating arguments Remember the steps in evaluating arguments:
Are the premises true?
If the premises are true, does the conclusion follow with certainty or high probability?
Concl.

6. Evaluating Singer’s argument
Discuss with one or two others & write down on doc linked below:
Premises true?
Conclusion follows with certainty or high probability?
Anything else you think should be taken into consideration when evaluating this argument?

7. Singer on Duty and charity
Morally required/prohibited What must or must not be done Singer: “duty”
Morally permissible/optional
What can be done (what is permitted)
Supererogatory: praiseworthy but optional
Singer: ”charity”

8. Implications
Draw line between morally required (duty) and supererogatory (charity) differently
We should be “working full time to relieve great suffering”
(“Famine”)
Image licensed CC0 from pixabay.com

9. How much to donate? Comfortably off people should give 10% of income
(“The Singer Solution to World Poverty” (Singer 1999))
How much to donate?
5% for those doing quite well ($100,000 to $150,000 U.S.), more for those with higher incomes, less for lower
(The Life You Can Save (Singer 2009))
Image licensed CC0 from pixabay.com

10. Not only money! Donate time, food, books, your knowledge & expertise…
Creating bricks, Flickr photo shared by International Disaster Volunteers, licensed CC BY 2.0
Soup kitchen in Chicago opened by Al Capone (1931), public domain
On Wikimedia Commons

11. What do you think so far?
Learning Catalytics questions…

12. Arguments from Analogies

13. The Child in the Pond
“She Summons Ducks,” Flickr photo by Peter Lindbergh, licensed CC-BY

14. The child on the street (Dora example)
“Dogs Get Better Treatment, Homeless Boy, Jakarta, Flickr photo shared by Danumurthi Mahendra, licensed CC-BY

15. Bob and his bugatti
Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Red/Black, Flickr photo shared by Axion 23, licensed CC-BY

16. Evaluating arguments from analogy
It is morally wrong to do action X in situation A
Situation A is similar in morally relevant respects to situation B
If it is morally wrong to do X in A, then it is morally wrong to do X in B
Therefore, it is morally wrong to do X in B
Are each of these premises true,
for Singer’s analogies?

17. Acting on arguments
“What is the point of relating philosophy to public (and personal) affairs if we do not take our conclusions seriously? In this instance, taking our conclusion seriously means acting on it.” (“Famine”) The Life You Can Save website, with a calculator for how much you should give, a pledge to give that much, and charities that have been researched: