Death in a Shallow Pond
A Philosopher, a Drowning Child, and Strangers in Need
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- 23,99 €
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- 23,99 €
Publisher Description
From the bestselling coauthor of Wittgenstein’s Poker, a fascinating account of Peter Singer’s controversial “drowning child” thought experiment—and how it changed the way people think about charitable giving
Imagine this: You’re walking past a shallow pond and spot a toddler thrashing around in the water, in obvious danger of drowning. You look around for her parents, but nobody is there. You’re the only person who can save her and you must act immediately. But as you approach the pond you remember that you’re wearing your most expensive shoes. Wading into the water will ruin them—and might make you late for a meeting. Should you let the child drown? The philosopher Peter Singer published this thought experiment in 1972, arguing that allowing people in the developing world to die, when we could easily help them by giving money to charity, is as morally reprehensible as saving our shoes instead of the drowning child. Can this possibly be true? In Death in a Shallow Pond, David Edmonds tells the remarkable story of Singer and his controversial idea, tracing how it radically changed the way many think about poverty—but also how it has provoked scathing criticisms.
Death in a Shallow Pond describes the experiences and world events that led Singer to make his radical case and how it moved some young philosophers to establish the Effective Altruism movement, which tries to optimize philanthropy. The book also explores the reactions of critics who argue that the Shallow Pond and Effective Altruism are unrealistic, misguided, and counterproductive, neglecting the causes of—and therefore perpetuating—poverty. Ultimately, however, Edmonds argues that the Shallow Pond retains the power to shape how we live in a world in which terrible and unnecessary suffering persists.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Philosopher Edmonds (Wittgenstein's Poker) offers an insightful assessment of the Shallow Pond thought experiment and the effective altruism movement it influenced. Proposed in 1972 by moral philosopher Peter Singer, the experiment posits that not rescuing a drowning child in a shallow pond for fear of ruining one's expensive shoes is equivalent to not sacrificing the relatively modest resources required to save the lives of those who are geographically distant. In Singer's view, the parallel indicts much of the affluent West, which "walks by" the struggles of the developing world daily. Edmonds traces the thought experiment's influence on the effective altruism movement founded in the 2000s by Tony Ord and Will MacAskill, which aims to quantify the extent to which philanthropic organizations have an impact and spawned such entities as Give What You Can, which encourages people to pledge 10% of their earnings to charity. Edmonds also analyzes the movement's weaknesses, including its reliance on thought experiments (which describe "bizarre" situations that scramble one's natural "moral intuition"); its links to utilitarianism; and its promise of outsize influence to a "few mega-rich individuals" and alignment with the "interests of the Silicon Valley investor community." To cover so much ground, Edmonds sacrifices deeper exploration of some philosophical points that could use more unpacking; still, his analyses provide fascinating commentary on the ironies of a world in which extreme wealth coexists with poverty, famine, and preventable death. This is sure to spark debate.
