The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism is Changing Ideas about Living Ethically, by Peter Singer

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-238
Author(s):  
Abigail Gosselin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Peter Singer ◽  
Effective Altruism

Severe Poverty as an Unjust Emergency

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ashford
Keyword(s):  
Global Justice ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Substantial Proportion ◽  
Peter Singer ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
The One

On the one hand, recent literature on global justice urges us to correct features of global structures that contribute to the persistence of severe poverty. On the other, Peter Singer has argued that our obligations to donate to agencies such as Oxfam are at least as stringent as the obligation to rescue a child we happened to pass who is drowning in a pond. His argument has triggered a movement, known as “effective altruism,” which encourages people to donate a substantial proportion of their income to the most effective NGOs and advises them on how they can do the most good with their money. This paper examines the debate between these two positions and argues for a pluralist view, according to which duties to correct global injustice should be seen as back-up duties to those duties of aid which (as Singer rightly argues) are of the utmost moral urgency.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Virtue Theory ◽  
Peter Singer ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
The Subject ◽  
First Time

Philanthropy and charitable giving support the lives of both people and institutions. Individuals express their values by where they give and how much. Yet recent philosophers have written little about the subject, aside from Peter Singer and other advocates of effective altruism, who are mostly (but not universally) consequentialist utilitarians. We have a need, therefore, to examine theories of the ethics of giving from a wider range of theories, including theories based on Kant, intuitionism, virtue theory, integrity, and justice. The ethical theory that individuals hold makes a significant difference to their practices in giving. This volume contains essays by philosophers who are, in most cases, publishing on the topic for the first time.

scholarly journals The perfect philosophy for the perfect generation. (Effective Altruism : everywhere but at home.)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Akmut
Keyword(s):  
Moral Justification ◽  
Peter Singer ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
At Home

A report on a peculiar philosophy of our times. It has enabledcountless high-earners and 1-percenters to justify their lifestyles, par-ticularly in technology and financial/quantitative circles. They do soby giving back intermittently to faraway lands, hence our choice oftitle “Everywhere but at home”. We look at its foundations, its mainpromoters, the institutions they are associated with and from whichthey draw their false aura. We argue that Peter Singer et al. may havefinally found a solution to what we call the Galbraith equation : thefitting moral justification of greed. Every age deserves its set of newphilosophies : “Effective Altruism” is that of Facebook, Jane Street,Two Sigma and co..

The Ethics of Giving

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Virtue Theory ◽  
Peter Singer ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
The Subject ◽  
First Time

Philanthropy and charitable giving support the lives of both people and institutions. Individuals express their values by where they give and how much. Yet recent philosophers have written little about the subject, aside from Peter Singer and other advocates of effective altruism, who are mostly (but not universally) consequentialist utilitarians. We have a need, therefore, to examine theories of the ethics of giving from a wider range of theories, including theories based on Kant, intuitionism, virtue theory, integrity, and justice. The ethical theory that individuals hold makes a significant difference to their practices in giving. This volume contains essays by philosophers who are, in most cases, publishing on the topic for the first time.

scholarly journals Ethics for everyday heroes – from Utilitarianism to Effective Altruism

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Synowiec
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Peter Singer ◽  
Current State ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
Philosophical Framework ◽  
Made In ◽  
The Way

Abstract Effective Altruism is a very new discipline. The first steps towards creating a community were made in 2009. Although the movement is young, it has already changed lives of many people and its popularity continues to rise. The idea of effective altruism is deeply rooted in philosophy, hence to understand it better an attempt will be made to reconstruct and present the philosophical framework of Effective Altruism. This part is intended to show the development of utilitarian thought that led to Effective Altruism. I intentionally limited this reconstruction to the views of Peter Singer, as his philosophy inspired many effective altruists, especially at the beginning of the movement. I have tried to show that his earliest works were the first steps on the way to effective altruism. In the second part selected details of the idea will be referred to in order to show the current state of development of this branch of utilitarianism. In the last part, selected doubts and critical remarks will be presented that might be inspiration to adapt Effective Altruism to specific conditions of Central and Eastern Europe. It will be argued that advocacy for Effective Altruism is a fair way for effective altruists in countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

scholarly journals Effective altruism for the poor

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-35
Author(s):  
Jakub Synowiec
Keyword(s):  
Living Conditions ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Peter Singer ◽  
Ethical Position ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The World ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract The aim of the paper is to contribute to the debate on effective altruism. It is an attempt to present it as a universal moral proposition – not only a new charity model for the richest citizens of the world. The article starts with a definition of a hypothetical group of relatively-poor effective altruists. Their hypothetical living conditions and opportunities are juxtaposed with the theory of effective altruism developed by Peter Singer and William MacAskill and with career guides proposed by 80000hours.org – one of the websites gathering effective altruists. In the last part, selected practices for relatively poor effective altruists are described. The conclusion of the paper is, that although most of the reflections behind the concept of effective altruism are developed for the richest people in the world, it is a universal ethical position that can be applied into lives of relatively poor people, whose contribution should not be underestimated.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Concept of Effective Altruism in Peter Singer

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 14803-14816
Author(s):  
Joseph Nnaemeka Chukwuma et al., Joseph Nnaemeka Chukwuma et al., ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Peter Singer ◽  
Effective Altruism

La argumentación de Singer en Liberación animal: concepciones normativas, interés en vivir y agregacionismo

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (67) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Oscar Horta
Keyword(s):  
Peter Singer

Este artículo examina los presupuestos metodológicos, axiológicos y normativos en los que descansa la que posiblemente sea la obra más conocida de Peter Singer, Liberación animal. Se exploran las tensiones entre la posición normativa, de compromisos mínimos, que se intenta adoptar en esa obra, y las posiciones de Singer acerca del utilitarismo de las preferencias y el argumento de la reemplazabilidad. Se buscará elucidar en particular el modo en el que surgen tales tensiones al abordarse la consideración del agregacionismo y el interés en vivir en relación con el uso de animales no humanos.

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