2006-06-18 13:24:24 · 6 answers · asked by Dan J 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I was thinking it might be Peter Singer, but it might be someone who wrote about it prior to Singer. A paraphrase of the quote I am thinking of goes something like "Imagine that you see the world from above, not knowing which human being you are. You are to be randomly placed into one of the humans with only that human's knowledge and abilities, but you don't know which human it will be.What social systems / beliefs would you want people to follow in this situation?" A theory of altruistic ethics then develops from that point of view.
2006-06-18 13:56:50 · update #1
I doubt there would ever be such a person - at some point, that "I must do good for others" mentality will be motivated by some amount of self-serving.
2006-06-18 13:40:29 · answer #1 · answered by wheezer_april_4th_1966 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't know what her stand on it is, but Edith Wyschogrod, a philosopher and theologian at Rice University, seems to write about altruism from time to time.
2006-06-18 13:38:43 · answer #2 · answered by Sandsquish 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus Christ.
This one man has influenced more humanitarian projects, all over the world, then any other person that has ever lived. His philosophies is unmatched when it comes to teaching about sacrifice.
Only one of his twelve disciples died of natural causes (John) and 10 of them died because of their unwavering belief in him and his teachings.
One disciple betrayed him because he was not the militant messiah. Judas thought as well as other disciples that Jesus was going to take the world by force to set up his kingdom. After three years in the presences of Jesus he realized that Jesus had no plans whatsoever to take anything or one by force. After he betrayed Jesus he returned the reward money and killed himself.
As of today their are still many men and women who are disciples of Jesus through the words of the Bible and personal experiences. Many are still being martyred because of their belief in him.
2006-06-18 14:13:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Bono
2006-06-18 13:43:17 · answer #4 · answered by chris420huff 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, he won't admit it, but Bill Gates has shown by his actions that he has an altruistic personality.
he has given so much to public libraries, schools, and other institutions that the media has ignored.
and now he steps down from microsoft to run his charitable organization?
amazing.
inspiring.
2006-06-18 13:37:56 · answer #5 · answered by sharrron 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, but I like the sound of their point of view.
2006-06-18 13:28:58 · answer #6 · answered by Aussie Chick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋