Does Effective Altruism Take the Passion Out of Philanthropy?

Soren Dawody
2 min readOct 29, 2020

One of the founding principles of effective altruism is that the greatest good can be done when we use our intellect to drive philanthropic decisions. As Will MacAskill put it, “effective altruism is a movement whose purpose is to apply reason and evidence for the common good.”

The problems of the world are tremendous. Today, vulnerable populations are even more challenged. The global COVID-19 pandemic has taken a physical, emotional, and economic toll on the nations of the world. Yet we must use the power of our intellect and reasoning to discern if the project we are inspired to support is addressing the root cause of the problems we hope to solve.

Are Passion and Intellect Mutually Exclusive?

Passion and intellect are not mutually exclusive. Our passion, our love, is what moves us to give in the first place. It’s what inspires us to stretch ourselves and give more. Our intellect helps us maximize our donations, so they have the greatest impact. We gather information, review the data, and analyze the outcome assessments. It’s not an exercise devoid of passion.

The goal of doing the greatest good is achieved when we border our passion with intellectual discovery.

Rational Decision-making

Derek Parfit wrote in his book, On What Matters,

“Given the scientific and technological discoveries of the past two centuries, the world has never changed so quickly. It may be that soon we will have greater powers to transform not only our surroundings, but ourselves and our successors.”

As corporate leaders, we understand the importance of implementing strategies based on our company’s long-term health. Sometimes, the decisions we make are not easy, such as closing branches, laying off personnel, or dismissing an employee. But we keep our eye on the company’s founding vision and mission, and with compassion, we make the tough choices that address the root cause of the problems our company is facing. We remain financially healthy and able to make a more lasting contribution to our surroundings and our successors.

Charity Beyond the Home

In “Famine, Affluence and Morality,” written in 1972, Peter Singer challenged the world to consider the following scenario. Imagine that you’re walking by a shallow pond, and you see a child drowning. No one else is there but you. Of course, you would jump in to help the child. You wouldn’t even think about your nice clothes. He challenged his readers to imagine saving a child in a pond every year — a child in a pond on the other side of the world.

Conclusion

Using our intellect and our heart, we conclude that our global community’s overall health is better served by channeling our donations to organizations abroad. Providing cash grants, for instance, enables impoverished people to launch microenterprises. Ultimately, sustainable income streams are created for everyone in the community. As the country’s economic condition improves, local stakeholders become empowered to address other challenges, such as access to healthcare and affordable housing. Children can go to school. Literacy rates improve. The entire society is uplifted, and the world becomes healthier.

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Soren Dawody

My name is Soren Dawody, an entrepreneur interested in effective altruism & how to apply it in both my everyday life & business ventures