When an obvious principle demands a behavioral change that you do not carry out, you are failing to live up to your principles.
The point at which “effective altruism” transcends the triviality of choosing “more over less” is precisely when principles depend on behavior. A “behavioral ideology” is something that has not yet come into being.
However, it becomes even more trivial when the principles of human behavior are detached from the idea of virtue or lifestyle.
How am I going to maintain resolve to do good, to avoid life style creep, to reduce animal product consumption, etc., if I don’t have other people to show me the way, to encourage me, and to mentor?
It’s trivial to worry about how to spend resources on certain charities when one doesn’t have them.
The non-trivial consequence of an ideology centered on prosocial behavior patterns (financial charity, but not only) is the belief that the primary effort of such a movement should be to increase the number of people practicing charity. This requires effective psychological strategies that make a lifestyle based on cultivating benevolence (of which charity is a necessary consequence) appealing. For example, one hundred years ago, the founders of “Alcoholics Anonymous” had a very good idea.
The point at which “effective altruism” transcends the triviality of choosing “more over less” is precisely when principles depend on behavior. A “behavioral ideology” is something that has not yet come into being.
However, it becomes even more trivial when the principles of human behavior are detached from the idea of virtue or lifestyle.
It’s trivial to worry about how to spend resources on certain charities when one doesn’t have them.
The non-trivial consequence of an ideology centered on prosocial behavior patterns (financial charity, but not only) is the belief that the primary effort of such a movement should be to increase the number of people practicing charity. This requires effective psychological strategies that make a lifestyle based on cultivating benevolence (of which charity is a necessary consequence) appealing. For example, one hundred years ago, the founders of “Alcoholics Anonymous” had a very good idea.