31 May 07

Professor Peter Singer gave the first of this year's Uehiro Lectures on Practical Ethics on the topic of Global Poverty at the Martin Wood lecture theatre on the evening of 29 May. Addressing a packed lecture hall, Professor Singer set out his views on the moral obligations of the citizens of rich countries give money to aid the world's poorest people.

Professor Singer described a world where a billion people live in extreme poverty, on one dollar or less a day, and are 'undernourished, lack safe drinking water, cannot send their children to school, for whom healthcare is beyond their means and whose life expectancy is 48 years,' and contrasted this with the world's rich countries where the average person can enjoy luxuries previously unknown even to royalty.

Professor Singer declared that in the poorest nations 30,000 children are dying each day and that for citizens of rich countries to fail to take action to prevent this was comparable to failing to save a child's life in order to protect an uninsured car.

Professor Singer argued that suffering as a result of extreme poverty is a bad thing and that if a person is able to prevent this suffering then morally they ought to do so, and that therefore not to support the world's poorest people is a 'failure to meet a minimum standard of moral decency.'

Professor Singer called on the 'abundance and technology' available in the richest nations to be used to 'virtually eliminate, or significantly reduce, extreme poverty within the lifetime of some of us in this room.'

Professor Singer argued that individuals should take action in the form of donations to Oxfam or similar organisations, although he explained how a range of actions are available for individuals, from donations to political campaigning to voluntary work. He explained his argument is for action as a moral duty, not as part of a political programme to increase taxation or reduce inequality.

The lecture left extensive time for questions, during which Professor Singer was challenged and quizzed by the audience: on the choices and trade-offs for individuals, the role of aid organisations and the problems if only a few people met their moral obligations. Professor Singer acknowledged that there were many 'difficult decisions' for people to make, and a range of ways in which it is possible to act, but also how 'it is in all our interests to minimise this argument.'

The Uehiro Lectures have been held annually since 2004. They are open to the public and contribute towards raising public understanding of ethical issues. The Lectures are run by the Oxford Uehiro Centre, the part of the Oxford philosophy faculty responsible for teaching and researching into ethical issues. Previous years' lectures have covered issues such as morality in war and the ethics of genetic engineering.

Julian Savulescu, the Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics, introduced the lectures, saying: 'I would like to thank the Uehiro Foundation for Education and Ethics for their generous support and I would like also to say what an honour and a pleasure it is to introduce Peter Singer. I first attended one of his lectures in 1982, and at the end all of the students were talking, although they did not all agree with him. Peter is someone who can get you to think about the issues and has made a great difference to many people's lives.'