In the past, Peter Singer often argued that [the moral obligation to rush into a shallow pond to save a drowning child at the cost of ruining one’s shoes] is equivalent to [the moral obligation to give to charities that reduce extreme poverty].
I am now attempting to estimate the expected number of small children that will drown as a result of Peter Singer’s argument.
Ha! It doesn’t actually follow from the negation of the conclusion of Singer’s argument that you’re not obligated to save the drowning child, though: the antecedent of that conclusion is a conjunction, of which ‘I am obligated to save the drowning child’ is one of the conjuncts.
ETA:...I now see that what I’m saying is that the quote in the parent is wrong: he doesn’t actually argue that these two are equivalent. You also need to accept (maybe in addition to others) the premise that if you’re obligated to save the drowning child, you’re obligated to save a child who isn’t in immediate danger in your immediate presence.
I am now attempting to estimate the expected number of small children that will drown as a result of Peter Singer’s argument.
Ha! It doesn’t actually follow from the negation of the conclusion of Singer’s argument that you’re not obligated to save the drowning child, though: the antecedent of that conclusion is a conjunction, of which ‘I am obligated to save the drowning child’ is one of the conjuncts.
ETA:...I now see that what I’m saying is that the quote in the parent is wrong: he doesn’t actually argue that these two are equivalent. You also need to accept (maybe in addition to others) the premise that if you’re obligated to save the drowning child, you’re obligated to save a child who isn’t in immediate danger in your immediate presence.