Charity

 

Came across this term "Effective Altruism" (EA) in the media. It is the concept of donating charity in the most effective manner. It builds around the idea mooted by one philosopher named Peter Singer who advocates that giving must involve a balance between empathy and reasoning. Singer used the "child-in-pond" scenario to make his point. In his analogy a passer by wearing a pair of expensive shoes would not hesitate to save a drowning child at the expense of ruining his shoes. This arises from a direct empathetic encounter. However when invited to post a cheque to save a child suffering from starvation, half way across the globe, people will tend to toss the envelop away. Singer thinks ethically both scenarios are the same. 

To practice EA the giver must research and donate to the organisation that does the most good with every dollar. Carried to its extreme, a person who is a top income earner should spend his time earning big bucks and donating to such organisations instead of volunteering his service. Thus it is not surprising that EA societies attract math and tech nerds and entrepreneurs. Some EA fanatics are known to feel remorseful and terribly guilty when splurging on a "luxury" item out of impulse.

Fanatics aside there are some charitable people who are really quite admirable. Recently the Straits Times reported a retired businessman donating S$3 million to 6 charities. A couple of years ago in 2018 he also donated S$2.5m to charities. Curious about such generosity I read on and was amazed to note that the person is not super wealthy or has no family to bequeath his wealth to. Having sold his landed property and moved into a condo, he found he had excess money, so he up his donation. 

("I have already reached an old age and money to me is not important, so whatever excess I have, I will donate,” said the retiree, whose son and two daughters are married with their own children.")

What I really admire about this person is his non attachment, to material things and in particular to his family. ie. not hung up on providing the most comfortable life possible for his children and grandchildren. 

His action makes us reflect on true charity, EA or otherwise.