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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Really opened my eyes to how I view the ethics of helping those in need. To roughly summarise, Singer illuminates that we wouldn’t hesitate to prevent a child from drowning in front of us at the cost of ruining our shoes in the process. Yet, most of us don’t actually consider helping kids in other countries despite being able to at a similar cost.
Further implications can be taken from this. One being that when we decide to buy things that we don’t necessarily need, i.e. an expensive dinner or clothes, we are valuing these purchases more than the lives of those in poverty. The opportunity cost of buying these items being malaria vaccines and mosquito nets for example.
The book further explores the effectiveness of aid, practicality, fairness, effective charity and so on. When going over how much to give, there were two views in particular that resonated more with me:
1. Give to the point where any further contributions would undermine the pursuit of intrinsically life enhancing goods such as friendships, developing ones musical talents and being part of their community.
2. Live according to the rule that if widely accepted would lead to the best outcome, not required to go beyond that threshold.
Both are pretty subjective but prevents us from simply giving everything we own until giving any further would put us worse off than the person receiving aid, which wouldn’t be sustainable / widely accepted as a philosophy.
Further implications can be taken from this. One being that when we decide to buy things that we don’t necessarily need, i.e. an expensive dinner or clothes, we are valuing these purchases more than the lives of those in poverty. The opportunity cost of buying these items being malaria vaccines and mosquito nets for example.
The book further explores the effectiveness of aid, practicality, fairness, effective charity and so on. When going over how much to give, there were two views in particular that resonated more with me:
1. Give to the point where any further contributions would undermine the pursuit of intrinsically life enhancing goods such as friendships, developing ones musical talents and being part of their community.
2. Live according to the rule that if widely accepted would lead to the best outcome, not required to go beyond that threshold.
Both are pretty subjective but prevents us from simply giving everything we own until giving any further would put us worse off than the person receiving aid, which wouldn’t be sustainable / widely accepted as a philosophy.
I like him but he’s too altruistic, maybe thats just my own moral perception though
I enjoyed this book, but feel like I have traveled down this road with Singer before. It's a great book that I would highly recommend if you haven't read his essays about poverty, but there's not a lot new here if you have.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I listened to this for free, and I’m glad I didn’t pay for this book. You can find it in Apple Podcasts.
I didn’t care for it. All the author writes about is urging the reader to donate as much money as they can, and nothing else that is productive.
I didn’t care for it. All the author writes about is urging the reader to donate as much money as they can, and nothing else that is productive.
4 stars firm
Singer is a bit of a nut, but he is a persuasive nut. I wish more people knew his work. He makes me want to devote more of my limited resources to ending world poverty, world hunger, world ill health.
This is a readable volume, not philosophically dense at all. Highly recommended
Singer is a bit of a nut, but he is a persuasive nut. I wish more people knew his work. He makes me want to devote more of my limited resources to ending world poverty, world hunger, world ill health.
This is a readable volume, not philosophically dense at all. Highly recommended
This book was eye-opening that made you realise how there are ways to help support charities that make a real impact and that there is so much we can do. I found this well researched, well written and informative. I recommend it to everyone. If you cannot access the physical copy, it’s available on apple podcast for free (I am sure it’s available on other podcast providers).
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Maybe it's because I've been in the EA sphere for ten+ years, but I didn't find anything in this book to be new information for me. I am sure that to people who aren't aware of Peter Singer's philosophy it is more worthwhile a read?
If you read Singer's New York Times Sunday Magazine article on this topic (in 2006, I think), you already know much of what is covered by this book. But I found it to still be well worth reading.
Singer is a good writer and he manages to pack a great deal of information into this very quick read. We can see exactly how much money it takes to save the lives of the world's poor, what types of giving make the most difference, and how relatively easy it should be to make a significant dent in suffering through charitable giving. Singer's ideas about what it takes to live a truly ethical life are challenging but also empowering.
Singer is a good writer and he manages to pack a great deal of information into this very quick read. We can see exactly how much money it takes to save the lives of the world's poor, what types of giving make the most difference, and how relatively easy it should be to make a significant dent in suffering through charitable giving. Singer's ideas about what it takes to live a truly ethical life are challenging but also empowering.
The kind of book you want to put into the hand of everyone you know. Can't recommend highly enough, has definitely made me seriously reflect upon aspects of my life and my attitude towards charity.