Singer's Plan to End Global Poverty

Peter Singer's new book lays out his plan for ending global poverty, in which over 3 billion human beings live on less than $2 a day (and a shocking 1 billion live on less than about $1.25 a day for all their essential needs). As this profile in The Observer explains, here is a way for the most privileged human beings to discharge their duties to the most poor:

Every person in the developed world ought to give at least 5% of their annual income to poverty relief efforts (such as Oxfam or Unicef). The rich ought to give more.

And to address the ad hominem that always follows Singer's argument: He gives about 25% of his annual income to Oxfam.

Blood Diamonds at the Oscars?

The Oscar awards are this weekend. Some groups are calling on performers not to wear diamonds that are displacing native peoples in Africa. You can check out the story and get involved here.

Muhammad Yunus Inspires Young People to Change the world

Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus talks about the importance of young people using their imagination and creativity to envision a better world and not focusing on the trappings of grades and success as the centerpoint of a meaningful life.

CFP: Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World

Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World
Call for Papers
16th Annual Conference
July 18-23, 2009
Pine Lake Environmental Campus, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York
http://www.hartwick.edu/x446.xml
(Shuttle Service from Albany Airport will be available)

We invite submissions for the 16th-annual conference of SPCW. We welcome paper on all topics, from any and all philosophical traditions. The society fosters and supports productive philosophical exchange in a constructive environment. New members are always welcomed!

This year, the society will hold SPECIAL SESSIONS on the following topics:
1) Living Mindfully: Food, Environment, Technology
2) Whither Liberal Arts?
3) Sport, Play, and Leisure

Additional possible topics might include any of the following, many of which have been themes of conferences over the past 16 years:

Work, Labor, Creation
Philosophy of Place
Bridging Analytic and Continental Philosophy
Aesthetics
Literary Theory
Religious and Secular Institutions in the Contemporary World
Discourse and Dissent
Tradition and Memory
Multiculturalism and Philosophy
Human Nature and Human Habitats
Philosophy and Everyday Life
Authenticity, Autonomy, and Authority: Problems of Authority in the Contemporary World
Intersubjectivity: Self, Other, and Lifeworld
Time, History, and Social Change
Philosophy and Humanistic Studies
Culture and Ethics
Power, Law and the Possibility of Peace
Applying the Virtues
The Relevance of Philosophy
Justice and Identity in a Global Context


Please Note: As an open society, we welcome and encourage papers on any topic related to philosophy on the contemporary world (broadly construed).

Standard submissions: papers with a maximum length of 3,000 words. Alternative presentation and creative proposals will be given consideration. Electronic submissions are preferred.
Submissions are due March 1, 2009
Questions and submissions (prepared for blind review) should be sent to the following address:
Email: wisnewskij@hartwick.edu

Conference Co-Chairs:
Ramon Das Jeremy Wisnewski
University of Wellington, Victoria Hartwick College