Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The Philosophy of Philanthropy
Charity and Prosperity
Is our country's tradition of doing well by doing good coming to an end?
By Albert Keith Whitaker
brielfy mentions Plato in this article
Political Theory and the Problem of American Poverty
By Sharon Kay Vaughan
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2002/vaughans022/vaughans022.pdf
Vaughan draws on this source with the following commentary and qoutes on pp. 37-38 of her dissertaion.
Irwin, Terence, “Aristotle’s Defense of Private Property,” in A Companion to Aristotle’s Politics. ed. David Keyt and Fred Miller, Jr. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991): 200-225.
In addition, Irwin makes the point that is easy to suppose that Aristotle leaves room for philanthropy only by slighting the claims of justice.
"Philanthropy requires the philanthropic person (or institution) to have some surplus beyond his or her needs, and requires a beneficiary who is in some way significantly worse off than the benefactor. It is natural to ask whether the inequality between benefactor and beneficiary could not have been removed by some other means, and whether the interests of the beneficiary could not be better served by making him less dependent on the charitable impulses of the benefactor (Irwin 212)."
Finally, Irwin refers to Kant’s point that private property and inequality make philanthropy a possibility. "While philanthropy is better than no philanthropy when inequality exists, Irwin wonders if it would not be best to remove the conditions that make philanthropy desirable (Irwin 212)."
Vaughan also draws on the thought of Immaneul Kant on p. 150 when discussing Nozick.
Metaphysics of Morals
By Immanuel Kant
An excerpt from the section "On the Right of a State with Regard to Perpetual Foundations for its Subjects":
"The general will of the people has united itself into a society which is to maintain itself perpetually; and for this end it has submitted itself to the internal authority of the state in order to maintain those members of the society who are unable to maintain themselves. For reasons of state the government is therefore authorized to constrain the wealthy to provide the means of sustenance to those who are unable to provide for even their most necessary natural needs. The wealthy have acquired an obligation to the commonwealth, since they owe their existence to an act of submitting to its protection and care, which they need in order live; on this obligation the state now bases its right to contribute what is theirs to maintaining their fellow citizens (6:326)."
Is our country's tradition of doing well by doing good coming to an end?
By Albert Keith Whitaker
brielfy mentions Plato in this article
Political Theory and the Problem of American Poverty
By Sharon Kay Vaughan
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2002/vaughans022/vaughans022.pdf
Vaughan draws on this source with the following commentary and qoutes on pp. 37-38 of her dissertaion.
Irwin, Terence, “Aristotle’s Defense of Private Property,” in A Companion to Aristotle’s Politics. ed. David Keyt and Fred Miller, Jr. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991): 200-225.
In addition, Irwin makes the point that is easy to suppose that Aristotle leaves room for philanthropy only by slighting the claims of justice.
"Philanthropy requires the philanthropic person (or institution) to have some surplus beyond his or her needs, and requires a beneficiary who is in some way significantly worse off than the benefactor. It is natural to ask whether the inequality between benefactor and beneficiary could not have been removed by some other means, and whether the interests of the beneficiary could not be better served by making him less dependent on the charitable impulses of the benefactor (Irwin 212)."
Finally, Irwin refers to Kant’s point that private property and inequality make philanthropy a possibility. "While philanthropy is better than no philanthropy when inequality exists, Irwin wonders if it would not be best to remove the conditions that make philanthropy desirable (Irwin 212)."
Vaughan also draws on the thought of Immaneul Kant on p. 150 when discussing Nozick.
Metaphysics of Morals
By Immanuel Kant
An excerpt from the section "On the Right of a State with Regard to Perpetual Foundations for its Subjects":
"The general will of the people has united itself into a society which is to maintain itself perpetually; and for this end it has submitted itself to the internal authority of the state in order to maintain those members of the society who are unable to maintain themselves. For reasons of state the government is therefore authorized to constrain the wealthy to provide the means of sustenance to those who are unable to provide for even their most necessary natural needs. The wealthy have acquired an obligation to the commonwealth, since they owe their existence to an act of submitting to its protection and care, which they need in order live; on this obligation the state now bases its right to contribute what is theirs to maintaining their fellow citizens (6:326)."
