A useful compendium of a seminal article and its offshoots, and it couldn’t be timelier.
A distinguished philosopher offers his past and present thinking on the subject of moral obligations that members of affluent societies have to those living in extreme poverty.
In 1972, at the height of a humanitarian crisis involving millions of refugees seeking asylum in India from political repression they had suffered in Pakistan, Singer (Bioethics/Princeton Univ.; The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically, 2015, etc.) published his influential article, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality.” He argued that if people in the West had “[the] power to prevent something bad from happening, without…sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, [they] ought, morally, to do it.” This held true no matter whether the individuals they were helping were physically close to them or not. What was most important was that social ills—in the form of “suffering and death from lack of food, shelter and medical care”—plaguing fellow humans be eradicated. Argumentative force and cogency made Singer's article a staple of university courses worldwide. He pointed out the value of philosophy in public discourse while suggesting the need for committed social engagement among intellectuals who too often took action by writing or speaking rather than actually doing. More than four decades later, Singer brings together his original article along with two others—published in 1999 and 2006 in the New York Times Sunday Magazine—that discuss the problem of how much to give. “Fair share” contributions based on yearly income may seem the “right” thing to do since such a scheme suggests giving according to available funds. But Singer ultimately believes that in the end, any money not strictly allocated for necessities (and no matter the income level) “should be given away.” As powerful today as it was when he wrote it, Singer’s work offers uncompromising, refreshing insight into the problem of global economic inequality.
A useful compendium of a seminal article and its offshoots, and it couldn’t be timelier.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-19-021920-8
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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