This is the first collective study of the thinking behind the effective altruism movement. This movement comprises a growing global community of people who organise significant parts of their lives around the two key concepts represented in its name. Altruism is the idea that if we use a significant portion of the resources in our possession--whether money, time, or talents--with a view to helping others then we can improve the world considerably. When we do put such resources to altruistic use, it is crucial to focus on how much good this or that intervention is reasonably expected to do per unit of resource expended (as a gauge of effectiveness). We can try to rank various possible actions against each other to establish which will do the most good with the resources expended. Thus we could aim to rank various possible kinds of action to alleviate poverty against one another, or against actions aimed at very different types of outcome, focused perhaps on animal welfare or future generations. The scale and organisation of the effective altruism movement encourage careful dialogue on questions that have perhaps long been there, throwing them into new and sharper relief, and giving rise to previously unnoticed questions. In this volume a team of internationally recognised philosophers, economists, and political theorists present refined and in-depth explorations of issues that arise once one takes seriously the twin ideas of altruistic commitment and effectiveness.

About the Author
Hilary Greaves's main research interests concern issues in moral philosophy, decision theory, and economics. Her articles have been published in Economics and Philosophy, Mind, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and Philosophical Studies. Theron Pummer works on problems in ethical theory, metaphysics, and practical ethics. His articles have been published in Philosophy and Public Affairs, Philosophical Review, Philosophical Studies, and The Journal of Philosophy.

Reviews
a valuable contribution to the growing literature on effective altruism ... The volume not only exposits the philosophical underpinnings of effective altruism, but also aims to push it in new directions ... there is a lot of valuable discussion in this collection, and I imagine it will form the spine of a number of discussion groups and undergraduate courses. * Dylan Balfour, Journal of Moral Philosophy *
The book contains a great coverage of the problematics of and challenges to effective altruism...This is a decisive merit of the book and, along with its comprehensive coverage of the philosophic issues associated with the topic, it makes it a valuable text on effective altruism. * B.V.E. Hyde, Journal of Value Inquiry *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198841364
Author Hilary Greaves
Format Hardback
Page Count 258
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 534g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 162mm * 20mm