I strongly endorse the overall vibe/​message of titotal’s post here, but I’d add, as a philosopher, that EA philosophers are also a fairly professionally impressive bunch.
Peter Singer is a leading academic ethicist by any standards. The GPI in Oxford’s broadly EA-aligned work is regularly published in leading journals. I think it is fair to say Derek Parfit was broadly aligned with EA, and a key influence on the actually EA philosophers, and many philosophers would tell you he was a genuinely great philosopher. Many of the most controversial EA ideas like longtermism have roots in his work. Longtermism is less like a view believed only by a few marginalised scientists, and more like say, a controversial new interpretation of quantum mechanics that most physicists reject, but some young people at top departments like and which you can publish work defending in leading journals.
I strongly endorse the overall vibe/​message of titotal’s post here, but I’d add, as a philosopher, that EA philosophers are also a fairly professionally impressive bunch.
Peter Singer is a leading academic ethicist by any standards. The GPI in Oxford’s broadly EA-aligned work is regularly published in leading journals. I think it is fair to say Derek Parfit was broadly aligned with EA, and a key influence on the actually EA philosophers, and many philosophers would tell you he was a genuinely great philosopher. Many of the most controversial EA ideas like longtermism have roots in his work. Longtermism is less like a view believed only by a few marginalised scientists, and more like say, a controversial new interpretation of quantum mechanics that most physicists reject, but some young people at top departments like and which you can publish work defending in leading journals.