The Orthogonal Bet David Edmonds on Death in a Shallow Pond
Oct 22, 2025
In this engaging discussion, journalist David Edmonds delves into Peter Singer's shallow pond thought experiment, which challenges our moral obligations toward distant strangers. He explains how this concept paved the way for the Effective Altruism movement, designed to maximize charitable impact. Edmonds also addresses critiques of the movement, including its demandingness and the shift towards longtermism, stressing the importance of balancing individual aid with systemic change. Thought experiments, he argues, can significantly shape real-world ethics and actions.
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Shallow Pond As Moral Mirror
- Peter Singer's shallow pond asks if failing to save distant strangers is morally akin to ignoring a drowning child nearby.
- It reframes ordinary charity as a moral obligation when sacrifice is minimal compared with lives saved.
Origin In The Bangladesh Crisis
- Singer developed the idea in 1971 at Oxford during the Bangladesh refugee crisis and wrote Famine, Affluence and Morality.
- He asked whether Westerners had obligations to distant starving strangers during that catastrophe.
From Philosophy To Effective Altruism
- Toby Ord and Will MacAskill turned Singer's ethics into the Effective Altruism movement around 2005.
- They emphasized not only giving but giving to the most effective causes and charities.
