Based on the article "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" by Peter Singer

Question

According to Singer, if I am walking past a shallow pond and see a child drowning in it:

A. I have a moral obligation to save the child even if it gets my clothes muddy.

B. I have no duty to save the child but it would be charitable to do so.

C. I only have a moral obligation to save the child if I can do so without getting my clothes muddy.

D. It is morally permissible to walk past without helping the child.

Answer 1

In "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," Peter Singer argues that we have a moral obligation to help those in need, particularly when the cost to ourselves is minimal compared to the benefit to others. In the case of seeing a child drowning in a shallow pond, Singer would assert:

A. I have a moral obligation to save the child even if it gets my clothes muddy.

Singer's argument emphasizes that the moral imperative to help others, particularly in life-and-death situations, outweighs the trivial costs we might incur, such as dirty clothes.