Famine, affluence, and morality
by Peter Singer · first published 2016
13mentions
5recommended by
11HN commenters
2013–2025first – last mentioned
45% recommend55% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, influential essay arguing systematically whether affluent people are obligated to give aid to those in extreme poverty; useful for clarifying your own ethical reasoning, and readers call it perspective-changing.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
…areas of math or physics is useless. That being said, some work in practical ethics has had a huge impact. Peter Singer's work on animal ethics started the modern animal rights movement, and his essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" has inspired many people to donate a lot more to charity than they otherwise would.
on “Harvard dishonesty expert accused of dishonesty” ↗You'll have to decide what you should do for yourself. If you are philosophically inclined I recommend looking at Famine, Affluence, and Morality by Peter Singer not because it is right or wrong but because it may help clarify your own thoughts by laying out a systematic approach to reasoning about the issue. http://www.utilitarianism.net/singer/by/1972----.htm…
…a child will be provided an anti-worm pill - curing and preventing parasitic worm infections for about a year (see GiveWell to learn more). I recommend reading the short but super-influential essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" by Peter Singer. And after that, read some books by him too. https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/videos-books-an...
on “Tell HN: I have the perfect job, why is it not enough?” ↗I like Peter Singer's 1971 essay 'Famine, Affluence and Morality', when taken with a little Jung.
on “The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)” ↗I find GiveWells approach the most satisfying when I ask myself “how can I make my charity go the furthest”. https://www.givewell.org/ I also highly recommend Famine, Affluence, and Morality by Peter Singer, it’s a perspective changing book. Also, great comment!
on “What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)” ↗…the meat industry to provoke an emotional reaction. Anyway. I originally really liked the moral arguments for veganism as forwarded by Peter Singer, which of course is very similar to his argument in Famine, Affluence, and Morality - it's pretty much impossible to accept one but not the other. I have more problems with the consequences of the FAM argument - that we inexorably ought to use all our life for the benefit of others if…
on “Most Vegetarians and Vegans Eventually Return to Meat” ↗…relatedly, at least in terms of cause and effect, and with a historical basis in exploitation, is a question I read that was posed by philosopher Peter Singer, also in 1971, based on a paper he wrote called Famine, Affluence, and Morality. In it, an analogy is made where a drowning child in a pond (in the US) needs saving but at the cost of ruining your new shoes. At the same time, an equally in-need child (in Africa) is starving to death…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored” ↗It isn't all that weird to hear that. Peter Singer's paper "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" suggested that if we can help and we don't reduce ourselves to marginal utility we should help. For example, you can skip breakfast and save $5 for the poor. If we reduce ourselves to the point we can…
on “2014 Gates Annual Letter: Myths that block progress for the poor” ↗Peter Singer's Famine Affluence & Morality (1972) argued similarly, that we allow human suffering & don't do anything, even though we could. And he said that makes us provably evil. Recent submission, a video on Singer's paper: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35718342 https://youtu.be/KVl5kMXz1vA
on “Animals Are Dying in Droves. What Are They Telling Us?” ↗…lives, not feel-good causes; we should try to do the most good with our time and money. The following video by Peter Singer is a good intro to Effective Altruism and the philosophy behind it. His essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" was one of the primary influences on the founders of the movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diuv3XZQXyc It's true that more recently many people in the movement have shifted their focus from…
on “A complete guide to getting what you want” ↗Your first sentence betrays lack of familiarity with EA. It is offensive to me that you state it as fact. EA started as a continuation of Peter Singer's argument in "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" (1972), as a progression after the founding of Giving What We Can (thousands of people giving at least 10% of their pre-tax income to cost-effective charities). Have you ever read about it here? https://www.effectivealtruism.org/articles/introduction-to-e...
on “In Continued Defense of Effective Altruism” ↗…Singer. I have an inkling that you know him. He talks about (and makes people squirm) "how much should one give?": "[...] In particular, he expands upon some of the arguments made in his 1972 essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality", in which he posits that citizens of rich nations are morally obligated to give at least some of their disposable income to charities that help the global poor. He supports this using the drowning child…
on “Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless” ↗…let the seller know, and then that's about it. Why would he have any incentive (or obligation) to search for the other seller and let them know? On a side note, there is the famous essay by Singer - "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" which argues that it's immoral if you're not spending every single effort you can to help the less fortunate (paraphrase by me). I certainly deeply admire anyone who strive to do so, but I can't really…
on “How I became a con artist (2010)” ↗