Of course, I agree that EA contains extravagant, Byzantine, and biased approaches, influenced by all sorts of traditions. But there is one approach that is original, unique, and that opens a window for social change. In the world of conventional academic knowledge, there is nothing but highly intelligent people trying to build successful careers.
The critique of “undisciplined iconoclasm” is welcome. There is never enough improvement when there is so much to gain.
I think many people like myself once detected something nearly divine in effective altruism’s emphasis on sacrificing personal consumption to help the world’s poorest people, not for any kind of recognition or external reward, but just to do it. That is act of basically selfless love.
In the world of conventional academic knowledge, there is nothing but highly intelligent people trying to build successful careers.
This is pretty weird thing to say. You understand that “academic knowledge” encompasses basically all of science, right? I know plenty of academics, and I can’t think of anyone I know IRL that is not committed to truthseeking, often with signficantly more rigor than is found in effective altruism.
You understand that “academic knowledge” encompasses basically all of science, right?
Obviously, I was not referring to the empirical sciences, but, as is clear from the context, to the social sciences, which have a certain capacity to influence moral culture.
You have the impression that the work of academic professionals is rigorously focused on the truth. I think that there are some self-evident truths about social progress that are not currently being addressed in academia.
I don’t think that EA is a complete ideology today, but its foundation is based on a great novelty: conceiving social change from a trait of human behavior (altruism).
I’m not sure I’m able to follow anything you’re trying to say. I find your comments quite confusing.
I don’t agree with your opinion that academia is nothing but careerism and, presumably, that effective altruism is something more than that. I would say effective altruism and academia are roughly equally careerist and roughly equally idealistic. I also don’t agree that effective altruism is more epistemically virtuous than academia, or more capable of promoting social change, or anything like that.
Of course, I agree that EA contains extravagant, Byzantine, and biased approaches, influenced by all sorts of traditions. But there is one approach that is original, unique, and that opens a window for social change. In the world of conventional academic knowledge, there is nothing but highly intelligent people trying to build successful careers.
The critique of “undisciplined iconoclasm” is welcome. There is never enough improvement when there is so much to gain.
And “love” is a real phenomenon, a part of human behavior, that deserves analysis and understanding. It is not ornamental, nor a vague idealistic reference, nor a “reductio ad absurdum”.
This is pretty weird thing to say. You understand that “academic knowledge” encompasses basically all of science, right? I know plenty of academics, and I can’t think of anyone I know IRL that is not committed to truthseeking, often with signficantly more rigor than is found in effective altruism.
Obviously, I was not referring to the empirical sciences, but, as is clear from the context, to the social sciences, which have a certain capacity to influence moral culture.
You have the impression that the work of academic professionals is rigorously focused on the truth. I think that there are some self-evident truths about social progress that are not currently being addressed in academia.
I don’t think that EA is a complete ideology today, but its foundation is based on a great novelty: conceiving social change from a trait of human behavior (altruism).
I’m not sure I’m able to follow anything you’re trying to say. I find your comments quite confusing.
I don’t agree with your opinion that academia is nothing but careerism and, presumably, that effective altruism is something more than that. I would say effective altruism and academia are roughly equally careerist and roughly equally idealistic. I also don’t agree that effective altruism is more epistemically virtuous than academia, or more capable of promoting social change, or anything like that.