Executive summary: The author wrestles with being maximally effective after bonding with and rescuing a stray dog in Mexico, questioning if that emotional response should be avoided or encouraged.
Key points:
The author bonded with a sick stray dog in Mexico, spent significant time and money rescuing and eventually adopting it.
Some effective altruist friends criticized this as irrational and ineffective, suggesting euthanasia or a controversial social media post.
The author identifies as an effective altruist focused on reducing animal suffering, yet defends the emotional response and questions maximizing effectiveness above all else.
There are positive effects from helping individuals that inspire others, and wanting to retain empathy even in an increasingly rational world.
The author concludes by capping emotional/impulsive donations at 20% while guaranteeing effective donations are at least 80%, increasing both together.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The author wrestles with being maximally effective after bonding with and rescuing a stray dog in Mexico, questioning if that emotional response should be avoided or encouraged.
Key points:
The author bonded with a sick stray dog in Mexico, spent significant time and money rescuing and eventually adopting it.
Some effective altruist friends criticized this as irrational and ineffective, suggesting euthanasia or a controversial social media post.
The author identifies as an effective altruist focused on reducing animal suffering, yet defends the emotional response and questions maximizing effectiveness above all else.
There are positive effects from helping individuals that inspire others, and wanting to retain empathy even in an increasingly rational world.
The author concludes by capping emotional/impulsive donations at 20% while guaranteeing effective donations are at least 80%, increasing both together.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.