“With charity people don’t ask, do I get better value for my money by giving to this charity rather than that one? That aspect of market thinking, that I want value for money, is something the effective altruism movement is trying to bring into philanthropy.” More →

December 11, 2015

“It doesn’t take a lot of misfortune to be on the streets these days. I think everybody in America knows that right now,” says Ann Miller of Helena, Montana, where she and her husband, Wayne, opened God’s Love, an emergency homeless shelter and soup kitchen. More →

March 9, 2012

Donating organs and tissues “is considered an altruistic, charitable act and all the major religions look favorably upon that behavior,” says ethicist Robert Veatch. More →

June 3, 2011

“We can open up the question of financial incentives” for organ donations “without worrying about undue coercive pressures.” More →

August 20, 2010

Read an excerpt from a new book on medical technology costs and our health care system by Daniel Callahan, who advocates “an open discussion on what counts as good or bad choices, wise or imprudent ones, and our social obligations to our community as we make them.” More →

November 6, 2009

Scott Neeson is a former movie executive who now runs a school for kids living in the slums around Phnom Penh, Cambodia. More →

December 1, 2006

Altruism is the phenomenon of generosity to others with no expectation of reward. For many, giving is a religious requirement; others just do good whether they are religious or not. More →

March 24, 2006