Stefan Schubert discusses his new book “Effective Altruism and the Human Mind”

Each year, people donate billions to charities that are but a fraction as impactful as the most effective charities. Why is that? Why are people not helping others more effectively, as proposed by Effective Altruism? Dr Schubert seeks to give a psychological explanation, drawing on decades of empirical research. He investigates the role of preferences, norms, and beliefs and shows how intuition can limit impact. He shows how we can overcome these obstacles through information campaigns, incentivization techniques, and fundamental value change.

Dr Schubert works as researcher at Effective Altruism Sweden. Previously, he did research at London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and the Centre for Effective Altruism.
Schubert has a multidisciplinary background, with a PhD in theoretical philosophy and an MA in political science. He did a postdoc at London School of Economics, where he combined his research with outreach work in the field of political rationality. He set up the Swedish Network for Evidence-Based Policy, and has developed tools alongside clearerthinking.org, including argument-checking of opinion pieces and political debates. He blogs at stefanschubert.substack.com.