I’ve developed a new course called ‘The Psychology of Effective Altruism’ (Psych450) that I’m teaching this spring term here at University of New Mexico.
The syllabus (including an extensive list of required and optional readings and videos) is here:
Feel free to borrow any of this material if you teach an EA-related course.
This is an advanced undergraduate seminar with about 20 students, mostly psychology majors. It was designed to be suitable for diverse students at a large state university. Whereas other EA courses have focused mostly on technical moral philosophy, this is pitched more towards the psychology of EA—both why it’s appealing, and why it’s difficult.
The course’s main topics are EA principles, cause prioritization, utilitarian ethics, moral psychology, charity evaluation, global poverty and health, existential risks, AI safety, moral & cognitive enhancement, near-term technologies (robots, Ems, VR), animal sentience & welfare, and career choices.
I’ll probably run this class at least once a year, so would welcome any other suggestions of good readings, videos, exercises, etc. for next time.
New Effective Altruism course syllabus
I’ve developed a new course called ‘The Psychology of Effective Altruism’ (Psych450) that I’m teaching this spring term here at University of New Mexico.
The syllabus (including an extensive list of required and optional readings and videos) is here:
https://www.primalpoly.com/s/syllabus-draft-jan24d.docx
Feel free to borrow any of this material if you teach an EA-related course.
This is an advanced undergraduate seminar with about 20 students, mostly psychology majors. It was designed to be suitable for diverse students at a large state university. Whereas other EA courses have focused mostly on technical moral philosophy, this is pitched more towards the psychology of EA—both why it’s appealing, and why it’s difficult.
The course’s main topics are EA principles, cause prioritization, utilitarian ethics, moral psychology, charity evaluation, global poverty and health, existential risks, AI safety, moral & cognitive enhancement, near-term technologies (robots, Ems, VR), animal sentience & welfare, and career choices.
I’ll probably run this class at least once a year, so would welcome any other suggestions of good readings, videos, exercises, etc. for next time.
-- Geoffrey