Your post paints a picture of differences in value where I only see differences in careful thinking. The general public supports local charities and animal shelters not because they have different values, but because they have not spend much time to think carefully about their altruistic aspirations. I think most people would find causes like poverty in developing countries and global catastrophic risks very much within their altruistic priorities if they would use tools like prioritization and cost-efficiency. Those are not EA-specific tools, those are tools that people already use for their personal lives.
Others have alluded to it, I just wanted to make this point into its own comment because this part of your essay seems so off to me.
Thanks for the comment. If differences in careful thinking are the main sources of differences in people’s altruistic behavior and those differences can be easily eliminated through informing people about the benefits of thinking carefully, then I agree that the ideas in this post are not very important.
The reason that the second part is relevant is because as long as these differences in careful thinking persist, then it’s as if people have differences in values (this is the same as what I said in the essay about how there are a lot of differences in beliefs within the EA community which lead to different valuations of causes, even when people’s moral values are identical). If these differences in careful thinking were easily to eliminate, then we should be prioritizing informing the entire world about their mistakes ASAP, so that any differences in altruistic priorities would be eliminated. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s true that these differences are easy to eliminate (I think that’s partially why the EA community has moved away from advocacy).
I also would disagree that differences in careful thinking are the main sources of disagreements in people’s altrusitic behavior. Even within the EA community, where I think most people think very carefully, there are large differences in people’s valuations of causes, as I mentioned in the post. I expect that the situation would be similar if the entire world started “thinking more carefully”.
Your post paints a picture of differences in value where I only see differences in careful thinking. The general public supports local charities and animal shelters not because they have different values, but because they have not spend much time to think carefully about their altruistic aspirations. I think most people would find causes like poverty in developing countries and global catastrophic risks very much within their altruistic priorities if they would use tools like prioritization and cost-efficiency. Those are not EA-specific tools, those are tools that people already use for their personal lives.
Others have alluded to it, I just wanted to make this point into its own comment because this part of your essay seems so off to me.
Thanks for the comment. If differences in careful thinking are the main sources of differences in people’s altruistic behavior and those differences can be easily eliminated through informing people about the benefits of thinking carefully, then I agree that the ideas in this post are not very important.
The reason that the second part is relevant is because as long as these differences in careful thinking persist, then it’s as if people have differences in values (this is the same as what I said in the essay about how there are a lot of differences in beliefs within the EA community which lead to different valuations of causes, even when people’s moral values are identical). If these differences in careful thinking were easily to eliminate, then we should be prioritizing informing the entire world about their mistakes ASAP, so that any differences in altruistic priorities would be eliminated. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s true that these differences are easy to eliminate (I think that’s partially why the EA community has moved away from advocacy).
I also would disagree that differences in careful thinking are the main sources of disagreements in people’s altrusitic behavior. Even within the EA community, where I think most people think very carefully, there are large differences in people’s valuations of causes, as I mentioned in the post. I expect that the situation would be similar if the entire world started “thinking more carefully”.