No, I don’t own a suit at all, but there are many other possible examples. Perhaps instead I am wearing a watch that my mother gave to me before she died and it has great sentimental value, or perhaps I have some document, hidden away in an inner pocket, that would be expensive to replace or whose destruction risks getting me fired. The exact details don’t seem that important. I don’t happen to have either of these items, any more than I have shoes worth over $20, but it is not too hard to imagine.
It’s true that, by the point I have made my own life as unpleasant or unsafe as that of the people I am trying to help, diminishing marginal utility means I can definitely stop without guilt. Realistically, I am not going to go that far. I am not a saint, and if I accept the obligation but stop giving earlier I will feel guilty and hypocritical and awful about doing so.
No, I don’t own a suit at all, but there are many other possible examples.
I gave the Unger example at the end of my post.
It’s true that, by the point I have made my own life as unpleasant or unsafe as that of the people I am trying to help, diminishing marginal utility means I can definitely stop without guilt. Realistically, I am not going to go that far. I am not a saint, and if I accept the obligation but stop giving earlier I will feel guilty and hypocritical and awful about doing so.
I agree with Pablo.
My post is relevant to triaging with respect to different altruistic efforts.
No, I don’t own a suit at all, but there are many other possible examples. Perhaps instead I am wearing a watch that my mother gave to me before she died and it has great sentimental value, or perhaps I have some document, hidden away in an inner pocket, that would be expensive to replace or whose destruction risks getting me fired. The exact details don’t seem that important. I don’t happen to have either of these items, any more than I have shoes worth over $20, but it is not too hard to imagine.
It’s true that, by the point I have made my own life as unpleasant or unsafe as that of the people I am trying to help, diminishing marginal utility means I can definitely stop without guilt. Realistically, I am not going to go that far. I am not a saint, and if I accept the obligation but stop giving earlier I will feel guilty and hypocritical and awful about doing so.
I gave the Unger example at the end of my post.
I agree with Pablo.
My post is relevant to triaging with respect to different altruistic efforts.