I also find that how I explain EA changes a lot depending on context and who I’m talking to—and sometimes, I realise afterwards that I haven’t quite got across what makes EA distinct.
The four beliefs you identify remind me very much of the general EA principles by CEA:
Prioritization
Impartial altruism
Open truthseeking
Collaborative spirit
I would probably sort them like this:
Don’t care about some strangers more than other strangers because of arbitrary group membership. --> aligns well with impartial altruism
Think with numbers. --> aligns with prioritisation and open truth-seeking with an emphasis on using quantitative methods
We don’t know what we’re doing—but we can figure it out together. --> aligns with open truthseeking and collaborative spirit
You can do hard things. --> my question if someone mentioned this would be: how can we do hard things? I think the answer is a mix of prioritisation and collaborative spirit.
I like how your approach captures the culture of EA in a descriptive way, while CEA’s EA principles feel more like a set of aspirations or guiding rules. I might use your wordings for explaining the principles in a more tangible way in the future!
Thank you for the post!
I also find that how I explain EA changes a lot depending on context and who I’m talking to—and sometimes, I realise afterwards that I haven’t quite got across what makes EA distinct.
The four beliefs you identify remind me very much of the general EA principles by CEA:
I would probably sort them like this:
Don’t care about some strangers more than other strangers because of arbitrary group membership. --> aligns well with impartial altruism
Think with numbers. --> aligns with prioritisation and open truth-seeking with an emphasis on using quantitative methods
We don’t know what we’re doing—but we can figure it out together. --> aligns with open truthseeking and collaborative spirit
You can do hard things. --> my question if someone mentioned this would be: how can we do hard things? I think the answer is a mix of prioritisation and collaborative spirit.
I like how your approach captures the culture of EA in a descriptive way, while CEA’s EA principles feel more like a set of aspirations or guiding rules. I might use your wordings for explaining the principles in a more tangible way in the future!