Effective Altruism: Both The Heart And The Head, By Peter Singer

Everyone has a dream or something they want to follow in life. Some want material gain while others want to help as many people as they can. I’m not saying wanting material gain is a bad thing, but what I am saying is that for me, money is not the number one concern when my dream is to help others. My hunger to help others only grows by the day. Because of what’s going on in the world we live in today, I believe that it is important that those who are less fortunate than others have the assistance they need to get to an even playing field, health-wise, with others.

Altruism is a concept in which the individual sacrifices regard for themselves in the interest of another. The ethics of altruism state that a person should act in a matter where their self-sacrifice yields the greater well being on the whole. To put that statement in the form of a fundamental principle of rightness, an action is right if and only if (and because) the action brings a net-gain of well being to anyone except the individual performing the action. The altruistic mentality of an individual according to this moral theory means that any action that they undertake should be in the interest of others rather than themselves. The ethics of this concept also state that relationships of greater value to the individual carrying out an action should come second in priority to those they have with strangers since the close relationship has a much more meaningful connection to a person’s life. In these situations, the only morally correct way of acting is in the way that defeats the well being of the agent of an action for the sake of others.

Another example of how altruism can be viewed in today’s society can be seen in the works of Mother Teresa and her plethora of altruistic acts throughout the globe. Although her focus was in India where she persued her novitiate (training), her organization has opened over 500 centers around the world helping the dying and the destitute (Moore 2002, pg. x). She took in the “untouchables” of society and gave them care and made sure that they were comfortable. Mother Teresa is often used as the benchmark when determining whether a selfless act is truly altruistic.

Frank McCourt uses many motifs in the memoir Angela’s Ashes, including the motif of altruism. It is appears quite frequently in the memoir. Altruism is a philanthropic idea in which a person does good deeds or has concern to/for other people. When a person a person commits an act of benevolence, it is usually an act of selfless generosity. However, these benevolent acts can also be an act of greed. Frank McCourt employs both selfless and self-indulged acts of altruism in Angela’s Ashes. While describing the misery of his childhood, Frank McCourt makes use of the motif of altruism to develop conflicts, character traits and motivations, and universal themes.

With that being said, the two doubts about altruism being a good thing should be explained. First of all, altruistic acts are not always morally good. Imagine the organ donor being racist and this person wishes to donate or sell their organs, but only to a recipient of their own ethnicity. This person is doing an altruistic act but not a truly moral one. Certainly there are different ways in which an altruistic act could be considered wrong. Here are a couple of examples: The person who is doing the altruist act may be doing damage about

Morality is one of the most fascinating aspects of humanity. It is often treated as the one trait that ultimately makes us superior to animals, and yet there is no agreed-upon single moral code. Questions of morality always lead to heated debates and passionate discussions, because every individual has their own values and ethics. Controversy often arises when the topic of the debate concerns inequality and injustice, such as between the rich and the poor. Recently, this type of discussion emerged because of a philosopher called Peter Singer, and book he published. In this paper, I will agree with Singer and argue that in order to live a moral life, one should donate funds to aid agencies, however only when the means are comfortably available.

Altruism refers to the concern for the welfare and well being of others without personal gains or

Altruism, in which one selflessly devotes to the welfare of another without expecting anything in return, often elicits an inexplicable and intangible surge of joy, in which one gains a sense of purpose. For example, I have observed the therapists at PRANA, whom altruistically devote up to an hour, when initially only allotted a half-hour time slot, programming individualized treatments for each patient. In their hour- long treatments, they create a non-fraternizing relationship with their patients that is fully functional on trust, empathy, and generosity. Devoting that extra time to each patient gives not only the

When one sees the word selfless-service, he or she literally sees the words self and less, followed by service. Self refers to an individual (in this case, it refers to one’s own interests) and less indicates a lack of, or without. Service can be a synonym of the word volunteering or duty. Therefore, the term selfless service must literally mean the lack of the pursuit of one’s own interests for the betterment of others. There is no measurement of selfless service. No matter what the scenario or who is involved, everyone who is involved benefits from one’s selfless acts. The one who shows selflessness may benefit by receiving a “thank you,” or even just a good feeling of helping others. Of course, the ones who receive the selfless acts benefit from obvious reasons. Selfless-service can be shown by anyone and everyone, including a soldier putting his/her life on the line to save a fallen comrade, a husband and father protecting and spending time with his wife and children, someone donating his/her time by volunteering as a tutor or with the American Red Cross or some other goodwill charity, and the teamwork of two or more athletes. Those four examples provide different scales in which selfless-service can be displayed. Selfless-service can be displayed in regards to one’s nation/military, one’s family, one’s community, and any team sport.

Over the endless cycles of generations, human life has lived up to its fundamental purpose of survival. Not only have we survived as a species, but we have evolved into the most complicated species on earth. Creatures riddled with mystery, emotion, morality; we have outdone ourselves in overcoming our basic reset function of survival. We originated in the mindset of survive and reproduce only to morph into a race rooted in emotion and intricate thought. Darwin’s theory, survival of the fittest, calculates that humans basic goal and reason of life is to survive, and reproduce; to have only ones self in mind. But why then, if natural selection filters us down to survival of the fittest, might one creature stick its neck out for another?

Although theories that suggest the non-existence of true altruism may be persuasive, it does not explain the reasons for selfless deeds done by famous figures for their love and services to people such as Mother Teresa. Batson (1991) suggested a hypothesis and feels that some people are genuinely concerned about other people’s welfare. According to his empathy-altruism hypothesis, empathic concerns produce altruism motivation and relieving their sufferings is the main priority. This hypothesis is supported by several experiments where participants are typically given an opportunity to help those in need for whom they have been led to different levels of empathic concerns.

In “Effective Altruism” by Peter Singer, Singer talks about how we can take actions that help others as much as possible. This is known as effective altruism. Effective altruism is a social movement that aims to revolutionize the way we live. Effective altruism encourages individuals to make altruism a central part of their lives and do as much good as possible, typically by contributing a fixed percentage of one's income to the world's best performing aid and development organizations. Philosopher Pete Singer for Ted Talks discuss that you can donate at least a tiny percentage of money and still be able to live a normal life. He also references many people who donated by individuals to to the world's poorest people can make a great

Helping people is a noble thing to do especially when it comes to the application of natural justice, where human beings help those who are suffering. There is always a hidden intention in every action that is obscured by the notion of philanthropy. Returned favors expectation might not be the ultimate intention as to why people may perform an act (Michael, 1978). However, it will be illogical to say that these intentions were

"We are all here on earth to help others. What I can't figure out is what the others are here for." --W. H. Auden (1)

First, it is important to understand what altruism is. Altruism is any act carried out by an individual in order to benefit another individual. [1, 2] At first glance,