Thank you for sharing this Holly. Have you read Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar? It’s a book full of stories of extraordinarily committed “do-gooders” (some effective altruists, some not), as well as some interesting analysis on the mixed reaction that they receive from society. I think there’s a lot of overlap with some of what you’ve written and the experiences of the individuals in Strangers Drowning, so you’re definitely not alone.
I suppose the extent that anyone experiences any of these 8 challenges really depends on how motivated they are by morality. I think most people think it’s important that they have a positive impact on the world (or at least, don’t have a negative one), but they think it’s less important to maximize their positive impact. Even being convinced of EA doesn’t necessarily change this: it might just lead you to conclude that you can have a much greater positive impact on the world at little cost to yourself, so you might as well...
I guess personally I think that morality should be my most important motivator abstractly, but just looking at my behaviour, it clearly isn’t in practice (at least right now). I suppose I’m glad that I don’t find altruism very emotionally difficult, but I also suppose that I feel slightly guilty about not feeling very guilty about not doing more.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ve actually never gotten round to reading it and have added to my Christmas list ^_^
I also suppose that I feel slightly guilty about not feeling very guilty about not doing more
I did worry a bit about people reading this as a “How saintly are you?” quiz, and possibly that outweighs the benefits of acknowledging what some people go through. I think all I can say is that this is not a competition you want to win. Walk cheerfully :-)
Thank you for sharing this Holly. Have you read Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar? It’s a book full of stories of extraordinarily committed “do-gooders” (some effective altruists, some not), as well as some interesting analysis on the mixed reaction that they receive from society. I think there’s a lot of overlap with some of what you’ve written and the experiences of the individuals in Strangers Drowning, so you’re definitely not alone.
I suppose the extent that anyone experiences any of these 8 challenges really depends on how motivated they are by morality. I think most people think it’s important that they have a positive impact on the world (or at least, don’t have a negative one), but they think it’s less important to maximize their positive impact. Even being convinced of EA doesn’t necessarily change this: it might just lead you to conclude that you can have a much greater positive impact on the world at little cost to yourself, so you might as well...
I guess personally I think that morality should be my most important motivator abstractly, but just looking at my behaviour, it clearly isn’t in practice (at least right now). I suppose I’m glad that I don’t find altruism very emotionally difficult, but I also suppose that I feel slightly guilty about not feeling very guilty about not doing more.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ve actually never gotten round to reading it and have added to my Christmas list ^_^
I did worry a bit about people reading this as a “How saintly are you?” quiz, and possibly that outweighs the benefits of acknowledging what some people go through. I think all I can say is that this is not a competition you want to win. Walk cheerfully :-)