I think this is an excellent post. The point about unnecessary terminology from philosophy and economics is certainly one I’ve thought about before, and I like the suggestion about following Orwell’s rules.
On the use of the term rational, I think it can be used in different ways. If we’re celebrating Effective Altruism as a movement which proceeds from the assumption that reason and evidence should be used to put our moral beliefs into action, then I think the use of the term is fine, and indeed is one of the movement’s strong points which will attract people to it.
But, if we’re saying something along the lines of “effective altruists are rational because they’re donating to AMF (or other popular charities among EAs)”, then I suppose it could be interpreted as saying we have all the answers already. So, perhaps it should be stressed that the fact that effective altruism is based on the principle that we should engage in rational inquiry does not always mean that effective altruists will be rational. From what I’ve read, the EA movement seems to be good at welcoming criticism, but it may not seem that way to others not associated with the movement.
On the point about narrow consequentialism, I agree with using other arguments, such as the drowning child argument, to counter this accusation. It may be harder to counter it with people you personally know, though: my non-EA friends know I assign a lot of weight to utilitarianism, so even if I am discussing it without using narrow consequentialist arguments, they may still see it through the lens of narrow consequentialism because they’ll associate EA with me and therefore with utilitarianism. Hopefully, though, by focusing on the arguments for EA that don’t rely on consequentialism, this association can be dealt with.
I think this is an excellent post. The point about unnecessary terminology from philosophy and economics is certainly one I’ve thought about before, and I like the suggestion about following Orwell’s rules.
On the use of the term rational, I think it can be used in different ways. If we’re celebrating Effective Altruism as a movement which proceeds from the assumption that reason and evidence should be used to put our moral beliefs into action, then I think the use of the term is fine, and indeed is one of the movement’s strong points which will attract people to it.
But, if we’re saying something along the lines of “effective altruists are rational because they’re donating to AMF (or other popular charities among EAs)”, then I suppose it could be interpreted as saying we have all the answers already. So, perhaps it should be stressed that the fact that effective altruism is based on the principle that we should engage in rational inquiry does not always mean that effective altruists will be rational. From what I’ve read, the EA movement seems to be good at welcoming criticism, but it may not seem that way to others not associated with the movement.
On the point about narrow consequentialism, I agree with using other arguments, such as the drowning child argument, to counter this accusation. It may be harder to counter it with people you personally know, though: my non-EA friends know I assign a lot of weight to utilitarianism, so even if I am discussing it without using narrow consequentialist arguments, they may still see it through the lens of narrow consequentialism because they’ll associate EA with me and therefore with utilitarianism. Hopefully, though, by focusing on the arguments for EA that don’t rely on consequentialism, this association can be dealt with.