Lifeboat Ethics Essay

Words: 985
Pages: 4
Open Document
The topic of this essay which I will be discussing is whether the moral obligations of a citizen ought be extended only to national boundaries, and therefore, moral agents have a rational obligation only to people of their own country. My argument in support of this claim is that by donating aid to countries outside our own we are in fact, doing more harm than good in the long run one reason being that we are setting up a countries reliance on aid and the other being that we are potentially inviting a tragedy of commons as a result of overpopulation and environmental decline. The counter to my primary argument will be discussing Peter Singer and his ideas that if we have the means available to us then it is our duty to help those less fortunate than ourselves. My reply to this will be to discuss Hardin's lifeboat ethics scenario and if we are to help countries external …show more content…
At face value, the idea of helping those nations external to our own seems like something that a person of good moral character ought to feel obliged to do, after all one of the fundamental premises of consequentialism is that we should do the greatest good for the greatest number, therefore if we have additional resources then there should not be any reason to not be generous with our abundance and share it with those less fortunate than ourselves be it through financial aid, medical aid or food. However, if we investigate things just a little we discover that it is not quite that simple. As discussed in Lifeboat Ethics: The case against helping the poor (Hardin, 1974),There is a proposal that has been put forth of developing a world food bank which would allow for these poorer nations to draw from them in the event of crop failures and times of famine, however it is inferred that we may in fact be causing more harm than good by setting up a nations dependence on aid rather than teaching that nation how to support themselves in times of hardship. Another argument against providing aid
Show More

Related Documents: Lifeboat Ethics Essay

Garret Hardin Lifeboat Ethics Essay

Peter Singer and Garrett Hardin are doing a stupendous job bringing this topic into the spotlight, and conveying their own distinct ideologies in regards to World Poverty. Both “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor,” and “The…

Words 794 - Pages 4

Essay about Lifeboat Ethics

Tentative Schedule Japanese 1A Fall 2013 Wright • This tentative schedule might change. If you are absent, make sure to contact a classmate to check the schedule. Exchange contact information with classmates. • You are responsible for the content covered during the absence. • Get handouts from your classmate when you miss class. Make arrangements with a classmate to get material if either of you is absent. The instructor will not always bring extra copies of previous material. • No make ups for quizzes…

Words 488 - Pages 2

Garrett Hardin Lifeboat Ethics Summary

Lifeboat Ethics Analysis During the 1970's, the Emeritus Professor of Human Ecology at the University of California, who has a Ph.D. in biology and is the author of several books, Garrett Hardin, wrote the essay Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor response to how rich, developed countries should go about providing foreign aid to more poor, developing countries. This essay appeared September 1974, in the magazine Psychology Today allowing everyone to see his ideas on how to handle…

Words 940 - Pages 4

Analysis Of Garrett Hardin's Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping The Poor

In his essay “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor” (1974), Garrett Hardin claims that because of overpopulation we should be concerned about our natural resources for posterity. Hardin supports his claim by first using a Lifeboat metaphor where the boat represents a rich country, the United States, and the people at sea wanting to get into the lifeboat represents the impoverished nations. Hardin then shows data on the population of the United States and the annual percentage of population…

Words 194 - Pages 1

Lifeboat Ethics The Case Against Helping The Poor Rhetorical Analysis

In the two essay’s “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor” by Garrett Hardin and “The Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift make an argument about helping out the poor. Garret Hardin’s states ethos and logo’s while explaining his argument towards helping out poor people. The essay that was argued most effectively was “A Modest Proposal”. Jonathan Swift explains his point thoroughly using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Ethos is the credibility taken from an ethical perspective. Hardin is an…

Words 632 - Pages 3

Sinking Boat Essay

100 10/2/2013 Sinking Lifeboat Garrett Hardin was an American Ecologist who wrote the article “Lifeboat Ethics” in Psychology Today in 1974. Garrett Hardin is a neoconservative with a Doctorate in Biology from Stanford University and has written about how human life is sustained on our planet. By using metaphors, statistics, and cause and effect, Hardin attempts to sway the audience opinion on the world food bank but fails to do so. Hardin uses metaphors such as a lifeboat and a spaceship to represent…

Words 1018 - Pages 5

Ethos Pathos Logos Analysis

Pathos and Logos. These three things are essential for creating any sort of essay or argument for or against something. In the essays “A Modest Proposal” written by Jonathan Swift his views on how to solve the problem of poverty are more effective than those of “ Lifeboat Ethics: A Case Against Helping the Poor” written by Garrett Hardin. Though both essays offer viable solutions to solve the issue of poverty Swift’s essay has a higher effect on the reader due to his use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos…

Words 658 - Pages 3

Garrett Hardin Lifeboat Ethics Analysis

In his article “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor,” Garrett Hardin claims nations must protect their resources and leave others to fend for themselves. He says if we do not protect ourselves there will be nothing left for the future generations. Harding was a Professor of Ecology educated on the subjects of resource distribution and the application of ecology in western civilization. Dr. Hardin was born in the early 1900’s and lived until 2003. With a Bachelors Degree in Zoology…

Words 1732 - Pages 7

Concept Of Abortion

life * The welfare rights of distant people (Negative and positive rights) * Negative right – a right not to be interfered with in some specific manner * Positive right – right to receive some specific goods or services * Lifeboat ethics - * Defensive Gun Uses (DGUs) – private citizens use their guns to scare off trespassers and fend off assaults * A moral approach – approach that issues in prescription such as “do this” and “don’t do that” * Addresses what are…

Words 5114 - Pages 21

Distorted Idea of Evolutionary Psychology Essay

view towards altruism is that it only exist on a small scale, for a short period of time and in specific circumstances, and within small intimate groups. Hardin believes in his idea of “Lifeboat Ethics”. According to Hardin, people who living in the rich nations are similar as to the occupants who were on a lifeboat drifting in the sea with other people drowning in the sea. If the people on the boat tried to save the drowning and getting them on the boat, everyone will get drown and the boat will…

Words 804 - Pages 4