The Life You Can Save, by Peter Singer
Renowned philosopher, Peter Singer, is at it again. The Life You Can Save is a short but powerful book about world poverty, and the ways in which citizens of rich nations can combat its scourge.
If you were wearing $100 dollar shoes, and saw a child drowning in a nearby lake, surely you would ruin your shoes, in order to swoop in and save the child. Yet, why is it that you won’t donate $100 to an international charity, when that donation could help hundreds of needy individuals? Frankly, we do not feel the same compulsion to help those who are far away, as we do towards those who are close. It is precisely this way of thinking that Singer seeks to enlighten readers about, and ultimately, remedy.
Singer is an ethicist. He is concerned with what is right, what is good, what we are required to do for others, what we ought to do for others, and what duties apply to us.
If you’re interested in poverty, justice, ethics, and the timely and interesting nexus created by all three, check out The Life You Can Save today!
More from Peter Singer:
One World
Animal Liberation
Rethinking Life & Death
Interested in Anti-poverty groups in Calgary? Check out the following:
Calgary End Poverty Meetup
Calgary Housing Action Meetup
Calgary Dollars
If The Life You Can Save makes an impression on you, why not come and discuss it, when the Sustainable Living Book Club meets at the Central Library, on Wednesday October 21st. Register here!