The Philosophy Shelf

The Rules of Rescue
Theron Pummer
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
www.oup.com/us
9780190884147, $29.95, HC, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Rescue-Distance-Effective-Altruism/dp/01908841=
42

Synopsis: When do you have to sacrifice life and limb, time and money, to p= revent harm to others? When must you save more people rather than fewer? Th= ese questions might arise in emergencies involving strangers drowning or tr= apped in burning buildings, but they also arise in our everyday lives, in w= hich we confront opportunities to donate time or money to help distant stra= ngers in need of food, shelter, or medical care. With the resources availab= le, we can provide more help -- or less.

With the publication of "The Rules of Rescue: Cost, Distance, and Effective=
Altruism", Professor Theron Pummer argues that we are often morally requir=
ed to engage in effective altruism, directing altruistic efforts in ways th=
at help the most. Even when the personal sacrifice involved makes it morall=
y permissible not to help at all, he contends, it often remains wrong to pr= ovide less help rather than more.

Using carefully crafted examples, Professor Pummer defends the view that he= lping distant strangers is more morally akin to rescuing nearby strangers t= han most of us realize. The ubiquity of opportunities to help distant stran= gers threatens to make morality extremely demanding, and Professor Pummer a= rgues, that it is only thanks to adequate permissions grounded in considera= tions of cost and autonomy that we may pursue our own plans and projects. H=
e ultimately concludes that many of us are required to provide no less help=
over our lives than we would have done if we were effective altruists.

Critique: Having a special appeal and value for readers with an interest in=
the philosophy underpinning ethics, philanthropy, charity, and morality, "= The Rules of Rescue: Cost, Distance, and Effective Altruism" is a seminal, = thought- provoking work which is unreservedly recommended for personal, pro= fessional, community, and academic library Contemporary Philosophy collecti= ons. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general = readers with an interest in the subject that "The Rules of Rescue: Cost, Di= stance, and Effective Altruism" is also available in a digital book format = (Kindle, $19.99).

Editorial Note: Theron Pummer (https://theronpummer.com) is a Senior Lectur=
er in Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, and Director of the Centr=
e for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs. Previously he was a Junior Res= earch Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He received his PhD=
from the University of California, San Diego. Pummer's articles have been = published in such journals as The Journal of Philosophy, Ethics, Philosophy=
and Public Affairs, Analysis, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenom= enological Research, and Philosophical Review.

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