Saving and Letting Live

Abstract

There is a metaphysical difference between person Akilling person B and A merely letting B die. There isalso a metaphysical difference between A saving B andA merely letting B live. This paper argues that the meta-physical difference between saving and letting live givesrise to a moral difference. It then puts that moral differ-ence to work: for example, it accounts for the long-feltmoral difference between failing to rescue a drowningchild and failing to donate $4000 to Oxfam (sufficientfor them, in the aggregate, to prevent a child’s death).