In my experience, EA is a somewhat dangerous philosophy because it’s emotionally hard to keep one’s eyes open to the problems of the world, while understanding what’s possible to do about it, while also trying to understand one’s own limitations. So mental health is something EAs struggle with a lot, but I think there are some misunderstandings that make it worse.
But being good does not mean you have to try to suffer in accordance with how much suffering there is in the world just to be “fair”. If you want to do something about the world, it seems good to try to cultivate a sense of compassion that feels serene, positive, and beautifwl. Not because suffering is good, but because a willingness to try to help is.
And while I do advocate being ambitious as a way to do more good, it’s possible to be ambitious while emotionally accepting that we can’t rescue everyone. Something like first choosing to be ok, and then increment our happiness with every additional being we help, rather than choosing to be not ok until we’ve helped everyone.
But my keys won’t fit into other people’s locks, so I hope you find whatever works for you. : )
“it’s emotionally hard to keep one’s eyes open to the problems of the world, while understanding what’s possible to do about it, while also trying to understand one’s own limitations.”
This might be exactly what is underlying the problem: it is hard as an individual as it is to find the balance between ambitions and attention to pressing issues, and knowing that it is hard to make some difference or change, no matter how hard you try. I love my spouse for exactly that (among many other things!) - which makes it even more difficult for myself to weigh in with other perspectives , or to even suggest that we leave the EA professional field outside our front door.
In my experience, EA is a somewhat dangerous philosophy because it’s emotionally hard to keep one’s eyes open to the problems of the world, while understanding what’s possible to do about it, while also trying to understand one’s own limitations. So mental health is something EAs struggle with a lot, but I think there are some misunderstandings that make it worse.
Understand that, yes, indeed, we live in triage every second of every day. That’s just unfortunately the world we live in.
But being good does not mean you have to try to suffer in accordance with how much suffering there is in the world just to be “fair”. If you want to do something about the world, it seems good to try to cultivate a sense of compassion that feels serene, positive, and beautifwl. Not because suffering is good, but because a willingness to try to help is.
And while I do advocate being ambitious as a way to do more good, it’s possible to be ambitious while emotionally accepting that we can’t rescue everyone. Something like first choosing to be ok, and then increment our happiness with every additional being we help, rather than choosing to be not ok until we’ve helped everyone.
But my keys won’t fit into other people’s locks, so I hope you find whatever works for you. : )
Thank you -
“it’s emotionally hard to keep one’s eyes open to the problems of the world, while understanding what’s possible to do about it, while also trying to understand one’s own limitations.”
This might be exactly what is underlying the problem: it is hard as an individual as it is to find the balance between ambitions and attention to pressing issues, and knowing that it is hard to make some difference or change, no matter how hard you try. I love my spouse for exactly that (among many other things!) - which makes it even more difficult for myself to weigh in with other perspectives , or to even suggest that we leave the EA professional field outside our front door.