In 1972, the young philosopher Peter Singer published "Famine, Affluence and Morality," which rapidly became one of the most widely discussed essays in applied ethics. Through this article, Singer presents his view that we have the same moral obligations to those far away as we do to those close to us. He argued that choosing not to send life-saving money to starving people on the other side of the earth is the moral equivalent of neglecting to save drowning children because we prefer not to muddy our shoes. If we can help, we must--and any excuse is hypocrisy. Singer's extreme stand on our moral obligations to others became a powerful call to arms and continues to challenge people's attitudes towards extreme poverty. Today, it remains a central touchstone for those who argue we should all help others more than we do.
As Bill and Melinda Gates observe in their foreword, in the age of today's global philanthropy, Singer's essay is as relevant now as it ever was. This attractively packaged, concise edition collects the original article, two of Singer's more recent popular writings on our obligations to others around the world, and a new introduction by Singer that discusses his current thinking.
【作者简介】
彼得·辛格（Peter Singer，1946—），生于澳大利亚墨尔本，牛津大学哲学博士，现任普林斯顿大学生物伦理学教授。20 世纪 70 年代凭借《动物解放》一书和《饥饿、富裕与道德》一文声名大噪，前者被誉为“现代动物解放运动圣经”，后者引发学界和大众关于全球贫困的激烈辩论。他是《不列颠百科全书》当前版本中的伦理学主要词条的撰写者，在伦理学领域声誉卓著。他创建了慈善组织“你可以拯救的生命”（The Life You Can Save），积极救助处于极端贫困中的人群。2005 年入选美国《时代》周刊“全球百大影响力人物”，以及澳大利亚《悉尼先驱晨报》“澳大利亚十大影响力公共知识分子”，在“2013年全球思想领袖榜”中位列第三。另著有《为什么成为素食主义者：合乎伦理地饮食》（Why Vegan? Eating Ethically）、《同一...
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Figurines