2009 Fall Proseminar Student Work

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Reconstructions of Singer Chapter

Recon #1

Singer’s general claim seems to be that the structure of distinctly separate nations within the world causes one’s view of ethics and morality to be faulty and incomplete. He supports this claim with four major arguments.

The first claim is that nationalism causes unnecessary loss of life through inaction. Morality which emphasizes the importance of one’s own citizens stops countries from acting in a manner that would save many lives in other countries because it would risk some lives of its own citizens. This is exemplified by the events in Rwanda and Kosovo, in which professional soldiers from other countries could have saved many lives with small amounts of casualties.

Singer’s second argument is that improper actions between nations causes war and excessive loss of life. As an example, he states that the First World War began because one nation asked too much of another and therefore attributes the nine million deaths to the structure of sovereign nations. Essentially, a morality based on nationalism is responsible for the First World War, according to Singer.

The final major rationale that Singer provides for why the current structure of sovereign states is inadequate is how modern globalization has changed the world. He cites terrorism and advances in communication as events which have created an integrated world community that goes beyond borders. Singer argues that this interconnectedness requires that we broaden the way we think ethically from one society or country to one world. SWilliams2 06:04, 18 September 2009 (UTC)