There are two philosophies on what the key to life is.
The first philosophy is that the key to life is separate yourself from the wretched masses of humanity by finding a special group of people that is above it all and becoming part of that group.
The second philosophy is that the key to life is to see the universal in your individual experience. And this means you are always stretching yourself to include more people, find connection with more people, show compassion and empathy to more people. But this is constantly uncomfortable because, again and again, you have to face the wretched masses of humanity and say âme too, me too, me tooâ (and realize you are one of them).
I am a total believer in the second philosophy and a hater of the first philosophy. (Not because itâs easy, but because itâs right!) To the extent I care about effective altruism, itâs because of the second philosophy: expand the moral circle, value all lives equally, extend beyond national borders, consider non-human creatures.
When I see people in effective altruism evince the first philosophy, to me, this is a profane betrayal of the whole point of the movement.
One of the reasons (among several other important reasons) that rationalists piss me off so much is their whole worldview and subculture is based on the first philosophy. Even the word ârationalistâ is about being superior to other people. If the rationalist community has one founder or leader, it would be Eliezer Yudkowsky. The way Eliezer Yudkowsky talks to and about other people, even people who are actively trying to help him or to understand him, is so hateful and so mean. He exhales contempt. And it isnât just Eliezer â you can go on LessWrong and read horrifying accounts of how some prominent people in the community have treated their employee or their romantic partner, with the stated justification that they are separate from and superior to others. Obviously thereâs a huge problem with racism, sexism, and anti-LGBT prejudice too, which are other ways of feeling separate and above.
There is no happiness to be found at the top of a hierarchy. Look at the people who think in the most hierarchical terms, who have climbed to the tops of the hierarchies they value. Are they happy? No. Theyâre miserable. This is a game you canât win. Itâs a con. Itâs a lie.
In the beautiful words of the Franciscan friar Richard Rohr, âThe great and merciful surprise is that we come to God not by doing it right but by doing it wrong!â
(Richard Rohrâs episode of You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes is wonderful if you want to hear more.)
There are two philosophies on what the key to life is.
The first philosophy is that the key to life is separate yourself from the wretched masses of humanity by finding a special group of people that is above it all and becoming part of that group.
The second philosophy is that the key to life is to see the universal in your individual experience. And this means you are always stretching yourself to include more people, find connection with more people, show compassion and empathy to more people. But this is constantly uncomfortable because, again and again, you have to face the wretched masses of humanity and say âme too, me too, me tooâ (and realize you are one of them).
I am a total believer in the second philosophy and a hater of the first philosophy. (Not because itâs easy, but because itâs right!) To the extent I care about effective altruism, itâs because of the second philosophy: expand the moral circle, value all lives equally, extend beyond national borders, consider non-human creatures.
When I see people in effective altruism evince the first philosophy, to me, this is a profane betrayal of the whole point of the movement.
One of the reasons (among several other important reasons) that rationalists piss me off so much is their whole worldview and subculture is based on the first philosophy. Even the word ârationalistâ is about being superior to other people. If the rationalist community has one founder or leader, it would be Eliezer Yudkowsky. The way Eliezer Yudkowsky talks to and about other people, even people who are actively trying to help him or to understand him, is so hateful and so mean. He exhales contempt. And it isnât just Eliezer â you can go on LessWrong and read horrifying accounts of how some prominent people in the community have treated their employee or their romantic partner, with the stated justification that they are separate from and superior to others. Obviously thereâs a huge problem with racism, sexism, and anti-LGBT prejudice too, which are other ways of feeling separate and above.
There is no happiness to be found at the top of a hierarchy. Look at the people who think in the most hierarchical terms, who have climbed to the tops of the hierarchies they value. Are they happy? No. Theyâre miserable. This is a game you canât win. Itâs a con. Itâs a lie.
In the beautiful words of the Franciscan friar Richard Rohr, âThe great and merciful surprise is that we come to God not by doing it right but by doing it wrong!â
(Richard Rohrâs episode of You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes is wonderful if you want to hear more.)