Suppose you are asked by the local hospital to donate one of your kidneys to save the life of a stranger. Most of us would insist that you are not obligated to give away your kidney, even for a good cause, because it's your body, you have a right to it, and you are never obligated to make such a sacrifice. This analogy has been used to cast doubt on one of the premises of Peter Singer's argument that the wealthy have a moral duty to help the needy.

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Peter Singer's argument, primarily found in his essay "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," posits that if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it. The kidney donation analogy challenges this by suggesting that there are limits to the sacrifices individuals are morally required to make, even for significant benefits to others, thus questioning the extent of the moral duty Singer proposes for the wealthy to aid the needy.

Suppose You Are Asked by the Local Hospital to Donate