My original reason for joining the introductory course was really to improve my vocabulary and confidence when engaging with charities and Non-profit organizations. But I have approached it actually as a formal introduction to a contemporary branch of moral philosophy with practical application. It has been a pleasure, I havenât pushed myself to learn so much in so long itâs been a breath of fresh air. Not to mention it re-affirmed my decision to pledge 10% of my income to Giving What We Can.
I think for me itâs that latter part of how to practically apply EA principles in everyday life, that is missing and not reminded is also fine and possible. Because for some individuals who cannot fully commit to EA with their time and resources, they can only return to it conscientiously as kind of a code of conduct they wish to live by to be a better person as a result of learning about EA.
For example âWe are always in triageâ and âBe a good ancestorââI feel like these can be written as âOrdinary Mindâ EA. That is to say, as an individual you are being effective with your mind to notice an opportunity or decision that is altruistic /â doing the most good at that precise moment in time. Whereas âCalculating Bayes-Rulesâ and âCalibrating Predictionsâ are parked in the âR&D Mindâ EA when deep in projects, working as a team and applying the models /â frameworks.
I suppose an analogy would be if EA had a collection of Analects, what would they be as a moral guide to live by?
I understand the key values in determining cause areas to do the most good, but how to apply that in mind in everyday life? Surely the âScout Mindsetâ (which I have since borrowed and now using as a professional behavioural goal for my team where I work) is morally sensible in many aspects of life? Basically I feel like the personal psychological benefits of realising and applying the values in everyday life could be as socially and collectively rewarding as effective-giving itself to cause areas?
I think maybe a section on âOrdinary Mindâ EA would be a great summary and chance for those that donât fully commit to flying the EA flag straight away but still wish to put the principles or code into practice on their own terms.
Great little insight into the mind of what goes on behind the scene, thanks for sharing it.
Coincidentally, I just posted on my work company slack channel recommending aisafety.com and staff to bookmark it, use it as a resource (just as ai language and tools are being considered more and more in my particular digital product design and ecommerce area). But also that itâs been partly funded by Long View Philanthropy, and explained itâs an organisation I donate to that gives grants based on x y z criteria.
But as I was writing the Slack post, I was thinking âI wonder what its like actually doing this?â. Opened up the EA Forum Digest after and your articled was there, ha! Just nice timing!
Thanks again,
John