How can we develop the courage to be “morally weird”
(Epistemic status: speculative)
It seems less common for people in developed countries to have the sort of formative experiences (involving up-close proximity to great suffering) that Lay had. I could believe that the median “EA recruit”—often from an elite university and/or a high-prestige occupation—may have been even less likely to have these experiences than others. Can (and should) we promote such experiences?
This reminds me of the “short-term mission trip” in many churches, which has become rather maligned (and rightfully so) in many circles. For instance, a group of teenagers might go for a week to help build an orphanage. In my view, those kinds of trips can generally only be justified—if at all—as investments in the moral development of those who go on them and the creation of a sustained commitment to a population/cause area.[1] Sadly, these sorts of trips rarely seem designed to promote moral development or sustained commitment. And they are usually targeted at most/all teenagers in the church (and so are not targeted specifically at those with the greatest potential to achieve impact).
Perhaps there should be an element of experiential moral education in the approach to gifted teenagers and college students. Instead of holding a multi-week event in a city like San Francisco or London, maybe Kenya would be a better choice? I know that would have to be done in a really sensitive and careful manner to avoid the same problems that plague many “charitable tourism” projects. But I would imagine that creating authentic experiences that uplift the local community might be easier to do at small scale than a large one (as would be necessary to meet the demand of short-term mission trips).
(Epistemic status: speculative)
It seems less common for people in developed countries to have the sort of formative experiences (involving up-close proximity to great suffering) that Lay had. I could believe that the median “EA recruit”—often from an elite university and/or a high-prestige occupation—may have been even less likely to have these experiences than others. Can (and should) we promote such experiences?
This reminds me of the “short-term mission trip” in many churches, which has become rather maligned (and rightfully so) in many circles. For instance, a group of teenagers might go for a week to help build an orphanage. In my view, those kinds of trips can generally only be justified—if at all—as investments in the moral development of those who go on them and the creation of a sustained commitment to a population/cause area.[1] Sadly, these sorts of trips rarely seem designed to promote moral development or sustained commitment. And they are usually targeted at most/all teenagers in the church (and so are not targeted specifically at those with the greatest potential to achieve impact).
Perhaps there should be an element of experiential moral education in the approach to gifted teenagers and college students. Instead of holding a multi-week event in a city like San Francisco or London, maybe Kenya would be a better choice? I know that would have to be done in a really sensitive and careful manner to avoid the same problems that plague many “charitable tourism” projects. But I would imagine that creating authentic experiences that uplift the local community might be easier to do at small scale than a large one (as would be necessary to meet the demand of short-term mission trips).
I put to one side the special case of short-term trips by those who have special skills (e.g., physicians).