Seems like a decent intro to the topic, but itās not what Iām interested on.
On a quick skim, they seem to concern themselves with ābaselineā virtues, a standard that most utilitarians should follow, derived from simple, common-sense considerations. Iām much more interested on āspeculativeā or āfrontierā virtues. Character traits that, if relentlessly followed, could expose you to a much higher impact ceiling. Some candidates:
Openess: the scientific revolution and the literature on ideas as non-rival good that drive growth, suggest that some forms of āsharingā could have outisized, possibly persistent effects on the world. Whatās the shape of the virtue that leads to to seek the most valuable forms of sharing (somewhat related blog post from me)
Kindness: most of your impact will come from others in your sphere of influence granting you affordances to act on the world. Thereās habits, that when consistently aplied, make others more enthusiastic about granting you such affordances (Sam Altman and how quickly he responds to emails is an example that comes to mind. You donāt have to agree with his values, but I think heās a very good case study for many relational viirtues)
Integrity: if youāre an ambitious consequentialist, you could aim to affect the way our society/ācivilization conceives the good life (e.g. think of the founding fathers). How important is the integrity of your daily behavior for that? What are the traits youād like to embody precisely because of their effect on your civilizationās character? (somewhat related)
I have some writings on my blog related to some of these. I might come back later to link them here once Iām on my computer.
For another angle on this. Whatās the characterization of the ātruth-seekingā virtue that propels you on the way to becoming Holden Karnofsky (or to becoming as Holden-like as you can).
I think Stefan Schubert & Lucius Caviolaās Virtues for Real-World Utilitarians is pretty good!
Seems like a decent intro to the topic, but itās not what Iām interested on.
On a quick skim, they seem to concern themselves with ābaselineā virtues, a standard that most utilitarians should follow, derived from simple, common-sense considerations. Iām much more interested on āspeculativeā or āfrontierā virtues. Character traits that, if relentlessly followed, could expose you to a much higher impact ceiling. Some candidates:
Openess: the scientific revolution and the literature on ideas as non-rival good that drive growth, suggest that some forms of āsharingā could have outisized, possibly persistent effects on the world. Whatās the shape of the virtue that leads to to seek the most valuable forms of sharing (somewhat related blog post from me)
Kindness: most of your impact will come from others in your sphere of influence granting you affordances to act on the world. Thereās habits, that when consistently aplied, make others more enthusiastic about granting you such affordances (Sam Altman and how quickly he responds to emails is an example that comes to mind. You donāt have to agree with his values, but I think heās a very good case study for many relational viirtues)
Integrity: if youāre an ambitious consequentialist, you could aim to affect the way our society/ācivilization conceives the good life (e.g. think of the founding fathers). How important is the integrity of your daily behavior for that? What are the traits youād like to embody precisely because of their effect on your civilizationās character? (somewhat related)
I have some writings on my blog related to some of these. I might come back later to link them here once Iām on my computer.
For another angle on this. Whatās the characterization of the ātruth-seekingā virtue that propels you on the way to becoming Holden Karnofsky (or to becoming as Holden-like as you can).