I do wonder whether I do good things just to virtue signal or to make myself feel good "enough" even if I didn't actually do the most good possible. I do wonder if other people wonder the same things about me, and that unsettles me. I hate the idea of people cynically interpreting everything I do, say, wear, etc. I also hate that I can c…
I do wonder whether I do good things just to virtue signal or to make myself feel good "enough" even if I didn't actually do the most good possible. I do wonder if other people wonder the same things about me, and that unsettles me. I hate the idea of people cynically interpreting everything I do, say, wear, etc. I also hate that I can come up with such interpretations for anything I do (consider that everything I wear can be said to signal something)
To an extent, effective altruism has given me some plausible deniability. Maybe it is also just another form of virtue signaling -- look, I *really* am good! Maybe it's the best way I can feel good about doing good, given what I now know about how our brains are poorly adapted to properly do good. Either way, the core principles of EA remain excellent ideals for those who want to make the world better, to the best of their abilities. You may call it bullshit, but I do think that for some people improving the world is a big part of what gives them fulfilment in their lives, it's not all pretense.
Nothing I disagree with here. Unfortunately we don't have a good word to deal with this sort of pretense that simultaneously feels sincere and fulfilling, and is also objectively good. And to differentiate this good, sincere, fulfilling pretense with the bad, insincere, or unfulfilling pretense. We're very bad at talking about our various pretendings, differentiating them, and evaluating them by how good or bad they are. Hopefully this essay will lead the way toward thinking more clearly about it.
I do wonder whether I do good things just to virtue signal or to make myself feel good "enough" even if I didn't actually do the most good possible. I do wonder if other people wonder the same things about me, and that unsettles me. I hate the idea of people cynically interpreting everything I do, say, wear, etc. I also hate that I can come up with such interpretations for anything I do (consider that everything I wear can be said to signal something)
To an extent, effective altruism has given me some plausible deniability. Maybe it is also just another form of virtue signaling -- look, I *really* am good! Maybe it's the best way I can feel good about doing good, given what I now know about how our brains are poorly adapted to properly do good. Either way, the core principles of EA remain excellent ideals for those who want to make the world better, to the best of their abilities. You may call it bullshit, but I do think that for some people improving the world is a big part of what gives them fulfilment in their lives, it's not all pretense.
Nothing I disagree with here. Unfortunately we don't have a good word to deal with this sort of pretense that simultaneously feels sincere and fulfilling, and is also objectively good. And to differentiate this good, sincere, fulfilling pretense with the bad, insincere, or unfulfilling pretense. We're very bad at talking about our various pretendings, differentiating them, and evaluating them by how good or bad they are. Hopefully this essay will lead the way toward thinking more clearly about it.