Peter Singer on global poverty

Slides for an Introduction to Philosophy course at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada. These slides talk about Singer's articles: "Famine, Affluence & Morality," and "The Singer Solution to World Poverty"

philosophy
Singer
Peter Singer

Transcript

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
   

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2. TWO WAYS SINGER ARGUES
   1. Argument from a principle he thinks we will
   all accept (“Famine, Affluence & Morality”)
   2. 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
   

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3. ARGUMENT FROM
   A PRINCIPLE
   

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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?
   

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5. EVALUATING ARGUMENTS
   Remember the steps in
   evaluating arguments:
   1. Are the premises true?
   2. If the premises are true,
   does the conclusion follow
   with certainty or high
   probability?
   • Deduction & induction
   Concl.
   

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6. EVALUATING SINGER’S ARGUMENT
   Discuss with one or two others & write down
   on doc linked below:
   1. Premises true?
   2. Conclusion follows with certainty or high
   probability?
   3. Anything else you think should be taken
   into consideration when evaluating this
   argument?
   https://is.gd/phil102singer
   

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7. SINGER ON DUTY AND CHARITY
   Morally
   required/prohibited
   What must or must not
   be done
   Singer: “duty”
   Morally
   permissible/optional
   1.What can be done
   (what is permitted)
   2.Supererogatory:
   praiseworthy but
   optional
   Singer: ”charity”
   

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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
   

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9. Comfortably off people
   should give 10% of income
   (“The Singer Solution to World
   Poverty” (Singer 1999))
   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
   

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

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11. WHAT DO YOU THINK SO FAR?
    Learning Catalytics questions…
    

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12. ARGUMENTS
    FROM
    ANALOGIES
    

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13. THE CHILD IN THE POND
    “She Summons Ducks,” Flickr photo by Peter Lindbergh, licensed CC-BY
    

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14. THE CHILD ON THE STREET
    (DORA EXAMPLE)
    “Dogs Get Better Treatment, Homeless Boy, Jakarta, Flickr photo shared by Danumurthi
    Mahendra, licensed CC-BY
    

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15. BOB AND HIS BUGATTI
    Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Red/Black, Flickr photo shared by Axion 23, licensed CC-BY
    

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16. EVALUATING ARGUMENTS FROM
    ANALOGY
    1. It is morally wrong to do action X in
    situation A
    2. Situation A is similar in morally relevant
    respects to situation B
    3. 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?
    

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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:
    http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/
    

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