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Ethics of Global Poverty

When you'll study it
Semester 2
CATS points
15
ECTS points
7.5
Level
Level 5
Module lead
Brian McElwee
Academic year
2025-26

Module overview

Ethics of Global Poverty examines the duties of affluent people towards those living in poverty around the world. Among the questions we will examine are: What obligations do we have to help strangers in need? What bases might such obligations have? Are some charitable causes better than others? Do we have an obligation to donate to the most effective charities, or do we have discretion in our charitable giving? How do we determine the limits of obligations of beneficence? How demanding can such obligations be? Do the major moral theories converge on answers to these questions?