Hey so effective altruism is a thing
I don’t have much in the way of hobbies these days, mainly due to being a PhD writing (and worrying about) machine on legs, but if I did it’d probably be talking to groups of people in pubs about Effective Altruism.
Look here I am doing exactly that:
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What’s effective altruism? I hear you begrudgingly ask after a long and awkward silence. Well, I’m glad you ask. Effective altruism is the idea behind a growing movement of philosophy, science and evidence minded individuals with a passion to doing as much good in the world as they possible can.
In short effective altruism involves using a combination of the head (reason, logic and evidence) and the heart (empathy/compassion) to systematically work towards finding the most effective ways to making the world a better place for all that live in it.
It sounds fluffy - and sort of like a cult - I know, I think we're still working out how to talk about this idea without sounding weird. Effectiveness in the charity/aid sector should be the norm but currently it just isn't.
This video was my first foray into this idea and, well, it change a lot of how I now see my place within the world.
Toby Ord: How to save hundreds of lives
As a psychologist that works in vaccine hesitancy I deal a lot in the communication of effectiveness evidence, beliefs related to a behaviour that saves lives and trust in institutions. The charity world works in much the same way, so this idea chimed with me nicely.
I’ll keep my words short here and instead point you towards those that say what I want to better than I ever could.
Will MacAskill: A Better Way to Lead an Ethical Life
Peter Singer: The why and how of effective altruism
In the summer of 2014 the Ice Bucket challenge (yeah, remember that!) landed on me and instead of donating to the ALS charity that the event was linked to I decided that I would start donating 10% of my income to effective charities from then on. It’s now three and a half years later and I can honestly say it is, and will probably continue to be, the thing I am most proud of doing in my life.
If this is the first time you’re hearing about this idea today, I'm hoping it won’t be the last. It certainly wont be if you decide to follow this blog. It’s a topic I come back to often.
Side note: Yes, we have lectures in pubs here in the UK, it's a whole thing. I did this one through a network called Skeptics in the Pub they're amazing
I have heard of pathological altruism but effective altruism is new.
I have had a few anti-vaxxers try to downvote my posts but my reputation score is high enough now to block most of that.
As for effective altruism (head + heart) it sounds like something the nuclear industry could belatedly use.
Have my 100% upvote, all 7 cents of it. Don't spend it all in one place.
They're very compatible concepts from what I understand of pathological altruism, both argue for rational compassion and want to avoid falling for charities like Playpump international which has good optics but actually makes things worse. It's not about being cynical about charity either though its just about valuing effectiveness, how that is defined however is a continuing area of study
Yes, I'm not liking my chances when I start talking more about vaccine. I did a quick search and there does seem to be a very active anti-vaccine community here.
Ha, thank you! :-)