It is sometimes hard for communities with very different beliefs to communicate. But it would be a shame if communication were to break down.
I think it is worth trying to understand why people from very different perspectives might disagree with effective altruists on key issues. I have tried on my blog to bring out some key points from the discussions in this volume, and I hope to explore others in the future.
I hope we can bring the rhetoric down and focus on saying as clearly as possible what the main cruxes are and why a reasonable person might stand on one side or another.
I hope we can bring the rhetoric down and focus on saying as clearly as possible what the main cruxes are and why a reasonable person might stand on one side or another.
I agree with this. But in order for constructive debate to happen, the authors of this book will need to make better efforts. It would be great to see any of them reach out to effective altruists and engage in debate, but as far as I know, this has not yet happened at all
UPDATE: Matthew C. Halteman now appears to be the first author of The Good it Promises, the Harm it Does to have posted on this forum and has engaged in constructive discussion with the author of this topic. This is great! I’d love to see more like this!
Thanks! I always appreciate engagement and would be very happy to see any of my posts discussed on the EA Forum, either as linkposts or not.
I need a bit more independence than the EA Forum can provide. I want to write for a diverse audience in a way that isn’t beholden primarily to EA opinions, and I want to be clear that while much of my blog discusses issues connected to effective altruism, and while I agree with effective altruists on a great many philosophical points, I am not an effective altruist.
For that reason, I tend not to post much on the EA Forum, though I do try to comment when I can. I’d be happy to comment at least to some degree on any linkpost, and I’m always very responsive to comments on my blog.
I appreciate this can be a bit frustrating, but I need to be clear about who I am and who my audience is.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. That makes sense. I don’t consider myself an EA, and read EA Forum 80% out of intellectual interest, 20% out of altruistic motives, so I’ll leave my end of the conversation here (and perhaps subscribe to your blog!), but from the upvotes on your suggestion of a blog update, seems like it met with significant interest among EA Forum readers, so I’d encourage you to do that!
It is sometimes hard for communities with very different beliefs to communicate. But it would be a shame if communication were to break down.
I think it is worth trying to understand why people from very different perspectives might disagree with effective altruists on key issues. I have tried on my blog to bring out some key points from the discussions in this volume, and I hope to explore others in the future.
I hope we can bring the rhetoric down and focus on saying as clearly as possible what the main cruxes are and why a reasonable person might stand on one side or another.
I agree with this. But in order for constructive debate to happen, the authors of this book will need to make better efforts. It would be great to see any of them reach out to effective altruists and engage in debate, but as far as I know, this has not yet happened at all
UPDATE: Matthew C. Halteman now appears to be the first author of The Good it Promises, the Harm it Does to have posted on this forum and has engaged in constructive discussion with the author of this topic. This is great! I’d love to see more like this!
Hi David, yes, I’ve appreciated your blog commentary on these issues, and would recommend that people read that over the book itself!
Thanks Richard—I’ve appreciated your comments on the blog!
It would be worth cross posting each blog post here!
How about a blog update in a month or so about the post series I’ve written so far, lessons learned, and future directions, posted to the EA Forum?
Thanks! I always appreciate engagement and would be very happy to see any of my posts discussed on the EA Forum, either as linkposts or not.
I need a bit more independence than the EA Forum can provide. I want to write for a diverse audience in a way that isn’t beholden primarily to EA opinions, and I want to be clear that while much of my blog discusses issues connected to effective altruism, and while I agree with effective altruists on a great many philosophical points, I am not an effective altruist.
For that reason, I tend not to post much on the EA Forum, though I do try to comment when I can. I’d be happy to comment at least to some degree on any linkpost, and I’m always very responsive to comments on my blog.
I appreciate this can be a bit frustrating, but I need to be clear about who I am and who my audience is.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. That makes sense. I don’t consider myself an EA, and read EA Forum 80% out of intellectual interest, 20% out of altruistic motives, so I’ll leave my end of the conversation here (and perhaps subscribe to your blog!), but from the upvotes on your suggestion of a blog update, seems like it met with significant interest among EA Forum readers, so I’d encourage you to do that!
Agreed, and will do!