I loved this piece. Between this and Jeff Kaufman’s discussion of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, it makes me wonder how many other effective altruists there are in history.
What about other seminal Christians?
-Frys, Rowntrees?
The fabled buddhist monk that apparently persuaded King Ashoka to do what he could for his population?
Then, there are loads of politicians, scientists and doctors that have applied themselves and DONE a great deal of good, or thought about ways to improve the practice of medicine. The aim to help the most patients seems to have driven many of them, but its hard to tell whether they’re EAs or whether that matters?
I loved this piece. Between this and Jeff Kaufman’s discussion of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, it makes me wonder how many other effective altruists there are in history.
Thanks Will! I’m interested to hear Jeff’s take on the methodists—do you know if he’s written it down anywhere?
Here is Jeff’s post about John Wesley: http://www.jefftk.com/p/history-of-earning-to-give-iii-john-wesley
If you have any questions about the Methodist church, feel free to ask—I am a United Methodist.
What about other seminal Christians? -Frys, Rowntrees?
The fabled buddhist monk that apparently persuaded King Ashoka to do what he could for his population?
Then, there are loads of politicians, scientists and doctors that have applied themselves and DONE a great deal of good, or thought about ways to improve the practice of medicine. The aim to help the most patients seems to have driven many of them, but its hard to tell whether they’re EAs or whether that matters?