Reflective altruism
I’m a philosopher at Vanderbilt University (views my own). The purpose of this blog is to use academic research to drive positive change within and around the effective altruism movement. Discussions are long-form and structured around thematic series. Subscribe below for weekly posts.
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Mistakes in the moral mathematics of existential risk (Part 2: Ignoring background risk)
I discuss a second mistake in the moral mathematics of existential risk: neglecting background risk. I show how a leading discussion of biorisk makes this mistake, and also makes the mistake discussed in Part 1 of this series.
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Epistemics: (Part 3: Peer review)
What is the role of peer review within effective altruism? What should that role be?
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The good it promises, the harm it does (Part 4: Lori Gruen)
Revolutionaries argue that meaningful change requires overthrowing unjust systems. Reformers counter that it is often best to improve conditions within existing systems. Lori Guren proposes a middle road between revolution and reform.
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Mistakes in the moral mathematics of existential risk (Part 1: Introduction and cumulative risk)
Many authors give alarmingly high estimates of the value of existential risk mitigation. In this series based on my paper of the same name, I discuss three mistakes in the moral mathematics of existential risk that unduly inflate estimates of the value of existential risk mitigation.
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Epistemics: (Part 2: Examples)
In this post, I look at some ways in which examples are systematically misused in discussions by effective altruists. I focus on two cases: Aum Shinrikyo and the Biological Weapons Convention.