Rereading Southan’s essay allowed me to be more inquisitive than I had been the first time. I began to ask more questions about the theories behind the EAs’ thought processes. Even after looking through the Effective Altruist website, my opinion on it remained the same; I would not be able to follow that mindset. Although it is a great idea and I do believe these people may be making a difference, it is almost asking too much of us. We can’t all be expected to devote a large portion of our time or wealth to helping others. Many people don’t have enough income to be able to donate a large sum of their income to underdeveloped nations. How is one expected to devote all of their time to other people and still stay happy with the little time they have to themselves. Is allowing time to yourself a bad thing?
The essay was overall an easy read, however very broad in who it was intended for. Written by a philosopher who was simultaneously writing a screenplay… you begin to find that his target demographic was anyone with interest. While reading this essay, I did have to use dictionary.com to define the word “coalescing”.
Isabel,
Your comment, “Written by a philosopher who was simultaneously writing a screenplay… you begin to find that his target demographic was anyone with interest” made me laugh. I think you’re absolutely right!
Keep up the strong reflection.