Even though my logical belief towards altruism (stemming from no longer valuing intrinsically the happiness of a stranger) is gone, my heart will always want to help those who really need help through effective altruism. I don’t think that’s good enough though and really hope somebody can reconvince me to believe logically in altruism instead of just emotionally.
Maybe doing what your heart wants to do is “good enough”, if a lot of people who seem very logical and reasonable to you have come to the same conclusion through more “logical” routes?
I’ve been involved with EA for four years and work full-time at an EA organization, but I still wouldn’t call my commitment to EA an especially “logical” one. I’m one of those unusual people (though they’re much more common within EA) who grew up with a strong feeling that others’ happiness mattered as much as mine; I cried about bad news from the other side of the world because I felt like children starving somewhere else could just as easily have been me.
I reached that conclusion emotionally—but when I went to college and began studying philosophy, I realized that my emotional conclusion was actually also supported by many philosophers, plus thousands of other people from all walks of life who seemed to be unusually thoughtful in their other pursuits. Seeing this was what convinced me I’d probably found the right path, and I haven’t seen strong evidence against EA being broadly “correct” since I joined up.
So even if you don’t “logically” value the happiness of strangers, I think it’s safe to trust your heart, if doing so is leading you to a path that seems better for the world, and you’re still using logic to make decisions along that path. Even if you get lost in a strange city and stumble upon your destination by accident, that doesn’t mean you need to leave and find your way back using a map.
Maybe doing what your heart wants to do is “good enough”, if a lot of people who seem very logical and reasonable to you have come to the same conclusion through more “logical” routes?
I’ve been involved with EA for four years and work full-time at an EA organization, but I still wouldn’t call my commitment to EA an especially “logical” one. I’m one of those unusual people (though they’re much more common within EA) who grew up with a strong feeling that others’ happiness mattered as much as mine; I cried about bad news from the other side of the world because I felt like children starving somewhere else could just as easily have been me.
I reached that conclusion emotionally—but when I went to college and began studying philosophy, I realized that my emotional conclusion was actually also supported by many philosophers, plus thousands of other people from all walks of life who seemed to be unusually thoughtful in their other pursuits. Seeing this was what convinced me I’d probably found the right path, and I haven’t seen strong evidence against EA being broadly “correct” since I joined up.
So even if you don’t “logically” value the happiness of strangers, I think it’s safe to trust your heart, if doing so is leading you to a path that seems better for the world, and you’re still using logic to make decisions along that path. Even if you get lost in a strange city and stumble upon your destination by accident, that doesn’t mean you need to leave and find your way back using a map.