Executive summary: The author reflects on his journey to taking the Giving What We Can pledge to donate 10% of his income to effective charities, from unreflectively aspiring towards wealth to gradually shifting his values and identity towards doing the most good.
Key points:
In high school, the author unreflectively aspired towards wealth and status symbols like suits and nice cars, partly to gain respect and make up for being bullied.
In early university, the author had conflicting career ambitions and hadn’t settled on an identity, but started being exposed to ideas about ethics and began donating small amounts.
After listening to a talk by philosopher Derek Parfit, the author formally took the Giving What We Can pledge to donate at least 10% of his income to effective charities.
Five years later, the author feels giving is less about warm fuzzies and more akin to “paying a sort of tax”—not difficult but morally mandatory given global poverty and suffering.
The author wonders how many other pledgers feel the same, and whether motivations for giving ultimately matter if impact stays the same.
Taking the pledge was a crucial decision in the author’s personal development; while motivations differ, it represents not accepting extreme preventable suffering in the world.
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 reflects on his journey to taking the Giving What We Can pledge to donate 10% of his income to effective charities, from unreflectively aspiring towards wealth to gradually shifting his values and identity towards doing the most good.
Key points:
In high school, the author unreflectively aspired towards wealth and status symbols like suits and nice cars, partly to gain respect and make up for being bullied.
In early university, the author had conflicting career ambitions and hadn’t settled on an identity, but started being exposed to ideas about ethics and began donating small amounts.
After listening to a talk by philosopher Derek Parfit, the author formally took the Giving What We Can pledge to donate at least 10% of his income to effective charities.
Five years later, the author feels giving is less about warm fuzzies and more akin to “paying a sort of tax”—not difficult but morally mandatory given global poverty and suffering.
The author wonders how many other pledgers feel the same, and whether motivations for giving ultimately matter if impact stays the same.
Taking the pledge was a crucial decision in the author’s personal development; while motivations differ, it represents not accepting extreme preventable suffering in the world.
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.