Thank you for this, there are plenty of others who feel the same way.While I never experienced these feelings in an overwhelming or depressing way, I’ve felt these same concerns of guilt for taking care of myself before engaging in altruism.
This SlateStarCodex post convinced me that my view was simply incorrect. To be an effective altruist is to do the most good possible, and to feel guilty or to shame others for only doing some good and not all of the good is counterproductive to EA goals—it hurts you, it hurts EA as a movement, and ultimately that will hurt the people you’re trying to help in the first place. There is no “correct” line of how much to give, so to help us help others without feeling guilty, EA/GWWC has decided to draw that line at 10%. Feel free to go above, but it’s absolutely not an obligation.
Of course, knowing you shouldn’t feel guilty is easier than escaping the emotion of guilt, and nobody can blame you for the feeling. But I genuinely believe on an intellectual level that I ought not feel guilty for most of the good I don’t do, and it helps.
Thank you for this, there are plenty of others who feel the same way.While I never experienced these feelings in an overwhelming or depressing way, I’ve felt these same concerns of guilt for taking care of myself before engaging in altruism.
This SlateStarCodex post convinced me that my view was simply incorrect. To be an effective altruist is to do the most good possible, and to feel guilty or to shame others for only doing some good and not all of the good is counterproductive to EA goals—it hurts you, it hurts EA as a movement, and ultimately that will hurt the people you’re trying to help in the first place. There is no “correct” line of how much to give, so to help us help others without feeling guilty, EA/GWWC has decided to draw that line at 10%. Feel free to go above, but it’s absolutely not an obligation.
Of course, knowing you shouldn’t feel guilty is easier than escaping the emotion of guilt, and nobody can blame you for the feeling. But I genuinely believe on an intellectual level that I ought not feel guilty for most of the good I don’t do, and it helps.