What is Effective Altruism?
Effective altruism is a project that aims to find the best ways to help others, and put them into practice. It is both a research field, which aims to identify the world’s most pressing problems and the best solutions to them, and a practical community that aims to use those findings to do good.
This project matters because, while many attempts to do good fail, some are enormously effective. For instance, some charities help 100 or even 1,000 times as many people as others, when given the same amount of resources.
This means that by thinking carefully about the best ways to help, we can do far more to tackle the world’s biggest problems.
Effective altruism was formalized by scholars at Oxford University, but has now spread around the world, and is being applied by tens of thousands of people in more than 70 countries.
People inspired by effective altruism have worked on projects that range from funding the distribution of 200 million malaria nets, to academic research on the future of AI, to campaigning for policies to prevent the next pandemic.
They’re not united by any particular solution to the world’s problems, but by a way of thinking. They try to find unusually good ways of helping, such that a given amount of effort goes an unusually long way.
The above text is from effectivealtruism.org. Read the full introduction here.
Of all the problems facing humanity, which should we focus on solving first?
In a compelling talk about how to make the world better, moral philosopher Will MacAskill provides a framework for answering this question and shares ideas for taking on three pressing global issues.
Interested in Learning More?
For a general introduction to effective altruism, read this.
EA Virtual Programs are opportunities for anyone around the world to engage intensively with the ideas of effective altruism through readings, videos, podcasts, exercises, and weekly small-group discussions.
80,000 Hours has a great guide on how to do strategic career planning here.
80,000 Hours also has a podcast featuring in-depth conversations about the world’s most pressing problems.
effectivealtruism.org has a list of resources and a signup form for the EA newsletter. They also maintain a list of excellent articles.
The EA forum is a place for collaborative discussion on how to do the most good.
Less Wrong is “a community blog devoted to the art of human rationality”.
The Open Philanthropy Project has a great blog. Some gems include the posts on hits-based giving, worldview diversification, and some key issues Holden changed his mind about.
On caring by Nate Soares is a classic essay that explores the workings of empathy.
Learn about Effective Altruism in Switzerland
Curious how these ideas manifest in a practical sense? Read about our activities, communities, and ongoing projects right here in Switzerland.