Thanks for writing this. Great to see people encouraging a sustainable approach to EA!
I want to tell you that taking care of yourself is what’s best for impact. But is it?
I claim that this is true:
Finding personal fulfillment is a positive result in and of itself.
It’s important to prioritize personal needs, otherwise you will not be in a good position to help others (family, friends, charity, etc.).
Ensuring one’s relationship with EA is sustainable can actually lead to more impact over the long run (though this shouldn’t be peoples primary goal, personal wellbeing comes first).
Encouraging a sustainable culture can make EA more welcoming to others.
These are all true, but (as Julia alludes to) not necessarily enough to lead us to correctly conclude that the conclusion we really want to believe is the correct one.
(Of course, we don’t live in the most inconvenient world, so wanting to believe in a conclusion is only some evidence against the veracity of a conclusion, not necessarily decisive evidence)
Thanks for writing this. Great to see people encouraging a sustainable approach to EA!
I claim that this is true:
Finding personal fulfillment is a positive result in and of itself.
It’s important to prioritize personal needs, otherwise you will not be in a good position to help others (family, friends, charity, etc.).
Ensuring one’s relationship with EA is sustainable can actually lead to more impact over the long run (though this shouldn’t be peoples primary goal, personal wellbeing comes first).
Encouraging a sustainable culture can make EA more welcoming to others.
These are all true, but (as Julia alludes to) not necessarily enough to lead us to correctly conclude that the conclusion we really want to believe is the correct one.
(Of course, we don’t live in the most inconvenient world, so wanting to believe in a conclusion is only some evidence against the veracity of a conclusion, not necessarily decisive evidence)