I think a subtext for some of the EA Forum discussions (particularly the more controversial/ideological ones) is that a) often two ideological camps form, b) many people in both camps are scared, c) ideology feeds on fear and d) people often don’t realize they’re afraid and cover it up in high-minded ideals (like “Justice” or “Truth”).
I think if you think other EAs are obviously, clearly Wrong or Evil, it’s probably helpful to
a) realize that your interlocutors (fellow EAs!) are human, and most of them are here because they want to serve the good
b) internally try to simulate their object-level arguments
c) try to understand the emotional anxieties that might have generated such arguments
d) internally check in on what fears you might have, as well as whether (from the outside, looking from 10,000 feet up) you might acting out the predictable moves of a particular Ideology.
e) take a deep breath and a step back, and think about your intentions for communicating.
Strong +1 to everyone is scared (not literally, but I think it’s true that many people with a large range of opinions feel—potentially quite correctly - that it’s risky to speak up, and that can be missed if you’re inhabiting one side of that fear). I think I do better when thinking about c).
That said, while the writing I like second best takes c) seriously, I think the writing I like best appears to almost forget that there are “sides” and just kind of talks about the world.
I think a subtext for some of the EA Forum discussions (particularly the more controversial/ideological ones) is that a) often two ideological camps form, b) many people in both camps are scared, c) ideology feeds on fear and d) people often don’t realize they’re afraid and cover it up in high-minded ideals (like “Justice” or “Truth”).
I think if you think other EAs are obviously, clearly Wrong or Evil, it’s probably helpful to
a) realize that your interlocutors (fellow EAs!) are human, and most of them are here because they want to serve the good
b) internally try to simulate their object-level arguments
c) try to understand the emotional anxieties that might have generated such arguments
d) internally check in on what fears you might have, as well as whether (from the outside, looking from 10,000 feet up) you might acting out the predictable moves of a particular Ideology.
e) take a deep breath and a step back, and think about your intentions for communicating.
I think this should be a full post. Happy to cowrite if you like.
Strong +1 to everyone is scared (not literally, but I think it’s true that many people with a large range of opinions feel—potentially quite correctly - that it’s risky to speak up, and that can be missed if you’re inhabiting one side of that fear). I think I do better when thinking about c).
That said, while the writing I like second best takes c) seriously, I think the writing I like best appears to almost forget that there are “sides” and just kind of talks about the world.