The Price of Altruism
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Summary
On your way to work, you see a child drowning in a shallow pool. Would you go in to save them?
I'm sure you would. But what if the cost were ruining your new designer shoes, missing an important meeting, or losing your chance to get rich?
Then someone tells you: just donate the money you would have spent on those shoes, and a thousand children a thousand miles away can be spared death from malaria.
For the same price as a pair of shoes, does the latter achieve a greater good?
This philosophical thought experiment gave rise to the effective altruism movement. It aims to achieve the greatest good without bias, but it has also been criticized as detached from reality.
In an age when goodwill is scarce, this book invites you to reconsider: is doing good to others our responsibility? Can goodwill be calculated?
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in moral philosophy and public ethics
- Practitioners concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of charitable donations
- Book club members who enjoy thought experiments and case discussions
- Student readers who want to reflect on everyday goodwill and the boundaries of responsibility
Not a good fit for
- Readers who only want specific donation channels and step-by-step instructions
- Casual readers expecting light stories or emotional essays
- Readers lacking patience for philosophical argumentation
Reading tips
- Start with the opening thought experiment, write down your first reaction, then compare it with the arguments that follow.
- After each chapter, summarize the author's position and possible objections in one sentence.
- Suitable for reading with friends and holding a small debate on the cost of a pair of shoes.
- After finishing, review your own donation habits and list one small, feasible adjustment.
About the publisher
Founded in 1984, Guowen Publishing House focuses on works in philosophy, economics, politics, history, and literature, and also publishes calligraphy, art, and photography titles as well as social science works from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Judging from the 40 titles in the database, the press has built a presence in biography, applied psychology, popular science, and philosophy. Representative books include Elon Musk: Rocket Revolution, The Power of Ritual, The Collapse of Silence, The Cost of Altruism, and When We Talk About the Ocean. Its authors include Eric Berger, Michael Norton, and David Edmonds, combining translated works with domestic writing. Biography and psychology-oriented inspirational titles stand out, while popular science and philosophy books emphasize readability, giving the list an interdisciplinary, general-readership orientation. Public information is limited, so the above focuses on the publishing directions reflected in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 前言与致谢
- 导论 死亡与浅水池
- 第Ⅰ部分 捐赠哲学
- 第1章 维也纳，墨尔本
- 第2章 牛津：哲学觉醒
- 第3章 《民主与不服从》出版
- 第4章 鲍勃的布加迪
- 第5章 从池塘到世界
- 第6章 墓园中的转折点
- 第7章 成长之痛
- 第8章 长远主义
- 第II部分 慈善及其不满
- 第9章 心灵实验室：思想实验批评
- 第10章 深水世界中的浅水池：效用主义批评
- 第11章 道德算术、游乐水泵与小额信贷：数量批评
- 第12章 杰利比太太与《土拨鼠之日》：过度要求批评
- 第13章 新的“白人的负担”：制度性批评
- 第14章 超级富豪与珍珠之门：亿万富豪批评
- 第15章 纠正过去的错误：历史不正义批评
- 第16章 距离与尊严：权力批评
- 第17章 你造成的伤害：有效性批评
- 第18章 摇罐乞钱：心理学批评
- 第19章 感受的艺术：动机批评
- 后记 辛格的“天鹅之歌”
- 注释
FAQ
Does this book advocate a particular way of donating?
Can I read it without a philosophy background?
Does the book discuss Yu Hua's views?
Comments
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About the author
David Edmonds is an author with limited documentation in this Chinese-language book database, which currently holds only one of his works, The Cost of Altruism. Because public information is scarce, his nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, and full body of work cannot be confirmed; the available information centers on this single title. The Cost of Altruism is classified as a philosophy book, suggesting that it addresses philosophical questions, possibly including the motives, costs, and ethical dilemmas behind altruistic behavior. Judging from this classification, Edmonds tends to approach everyday moral experience through philosophical reflection, using conceptual analysis to encourage readers to reconsider apparently natural acts of benevolence and sacrifice. For Chinese readers, the work offers an entry point for examining the complexity of altruism and reveals the author's approach to serious philosophical questions.
Ge Siyou is a Chinese writer on philosophy, about whom publicly available information remains limited; no systematic account of his exact identity or academic background has been disclosed. Two of his works are held in the collection, The Price of Altruism and The Nature of Rationality, both falling under philosophy and social science. Judging from the titles and categories, his writing centers on ethical and philosophical questions such as altruistic behavior, moral motivation, and the grounds of rationality, and tends toward conceptual analysis of everyday moral intuitions rather than personal experience or anecdote. The close thematic proximity of the two books suggests a focused interest sustained in ethics and the study of rationality. Because verifiable biographical information is scarce, his education, positions, and social influence cannot be described in detail; readers may turn to the above works to grasp his concerns and argumentative style.
Song Xuefang is an author for whom only limited public information is currently available; basic details such as biography, nationality, and dates of birth and death have not been clearly recorded. According to existing bibliographic information, only one work appears under this name: the philosophy title The Cost of Altruism. The subject suggests a discussion of the motives, costs, and ethical tensions behind altruistic behavior, written as reflective prose for general readers. Because background material on the author is scarce, it is difficult to assess the full range of her writing style, and her academic training or professional identity cannot be confirmed. Based on the available classification, the book is treated as a philosophy title, indicating conceptual analysis and everyday ethical reflection rather than narrative literature or a technical manual. For readers interested in altruism, moral philosophy, and human nature, it may serve as introductory thinking material; further public information is needed regarding Song Xuefang's other writing activities and later works.
