Search results for "Zell Kravinsky"
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Unethical Brotherly Love: Zell Kravinsky and Maximum Human Utility
2014
The case of American investor and philanthropist Zell Kravinsky (1956-) presents numerous ethical challenges regarding our social responsibility to others. In 2003, after disbursing the bulk of his forty-five-million-dollar fortune to various charities, Kravinsky made the decision to donate one of his kidneys to an impoverished African-American woman he had met only once. In doing so he courageously saved a life, but also incurred the wrath of his family, friends, and many observers in the media who questioned his sanity. To Kravinsky, however, refusal to donate would have been tantamount to murder, constituting a violation of his belief in ‘maximum human utility’ – a concept that insists o…
Dying to Save Lives: Zell Kravinsky, Peter Singer, and Lethal Organ Donation
2018
In 2003, after disbursing the bulk of his accumulated fortune of forty-five million dollars to various charities, Zell Kravinsky made the even greater altruistic decision to donate one of his kidneys to a complete stranger. In doing so he incurred the wrath of many in the psychiatric and health professions who questioned his sanity. In response, Kravinsky argued that refusal to donate would have constituted a violation of his belief in “maximum human utility” – a philosophical concept that insists we give up as much as we can for the good of others. Kravinsky has since stated that he would undergo a lethal organ donation in order to save a greater number of people from death, or to save peo…