Monday, June 15, 2015

Effective Altruist Philosophers

Alexander Dietz (USC) has put together a new website promoting effective altruism amongst philosophers:
Are you a philosopher who wants to make the world a better place? Make a public pledge to donate 1% or more of your income to the most effective charities, and see which other philosophers have done the same. [...]
Research has shown that people become significantly more willing to change their giving habits when they see others giving around them. And since academic philosophers represent an especially tight-knit community, many of whom are especially likely to be interested in ethical issues, publicly pledging your support could be particularly effective in encouraging other philosophers to give.

It's an excellent initiative, and I hope it secures widespread support throughout the profession! (The list of philosophers who have pledged is sorted by university, which may help promote a little healthy competition between departments -- and might, for example, be a useful resource for prospective graduate students seeking indications of how "ethically engaged" the climate in various departments is...)

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