One way of viewing altruism is that you have an energy bar of it and you should spend it wisely. The other way of viewing it is more like exercising muscles at the gym. I think in general, the 2nd view has slightly more merit and much more than we like to give it credit for since it’s inconvenient. https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/DBcDZJhTDgig9QNHR/altruism-sharpens-altruism
I don’t think EA says that, at least in practice. I know of no EAs that donate all money above what they absolutely require, have no outside hobbies, etc.
Most of EA is inconvenient. That’s fair.
I agree, I would also supplement with my comment I left here where similar things were discussed.
My reasons for being vegan have little to do with the direct negative effects of factory farming. They are in roughly descending order of importance.
A constant reminder to myself that non-human animals matter. My current day-to-day activities give nearly no reason to think about the fact that non-human animals have moral worth. This is my 2-5 times per day reminder of this fact.
Reduction of cognitive dissonance. It took about a year of being vegan to begin to appreciate, viscerally, that animals had moral worth. It’s hard to quantify this but it is tough to think that animals have moral worth when you eat them a few times a day. This has flow-through effects on donations, cause prioritization, etc.
The effect it has on others. I’m not a pushy vegan at all. I hardly tell people but every now and then people notice and ask questions about it.
Solidarity with non-EAA animal welfare people. For better or worse, outside of EA, this seems to be a ticket to entry to be considered taking the issue seriously. I want to be able to convince them to donate to THL over a pet shelter and to SWP over dog rescue charities and the the EA AWF over Pets for Vets. They are more likely to listen to me when they see me as one of them who just happens to be doing the math.
Reducing the daily suffering that I cause. It’s still something even though it pales in comparison to my yearly donations but it is me living in accordance with my values and is causing less suffering than I would otherwise.
Thanks, a lot of things for me to reflect on and deep dive into.
I think the moral/self licensing perspective is intresting. I want to view it as exercising at the gym rather than the energy bar. It feels more intuitive and something I’d like to be true.
But the evidence I’ve read in “Thinking fast and slow” and “Doing good better” makes me think the truth is more like the energy bar.
Ill respond to all thoughts
Correct.
One way of viewing altruism is that you have an energy bar of it and you should spend it wisely. The other way of viewing it is more like exercising muscles at the gym. I think in general, the 2nd view has slightly more merit and much more than we like to give it credit for since it’s inconvenient. https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/DBcDZJhTDgig9QNHR/altruism-sharpens-altruism
I don’t think EA says that, at least in practice. I know of no EAs that donate all money above what they absolutely require, have no outside hobbies, etc.
Most of EA is inconvenient. That’s fair.
I agree, I would also supplement with my comment I left here where similar things were discussed.
Thanks, a lot of things for me to reflect on and deep dive into.
I think the moral/self licensing perspective is intresting. I want to view it as exercising at the gym rather than the energy bar. It feels more intuitive and something I’d like to be true.
But the evidence I’ve read in “Thinking fast and slow” and “Doing good better” makes me think the truth is more like the energy bar.