Why empathy is tricky
I’m convinced our empathy is leading us astray when it comes to doing good.
If you asked me ten years ago what my (imaginary) foundation would be focused on, I would have said homelessness. I was barely an adult when I started working with a housing provider as a cook. It was something I did “on the side” but it brought me a great deal of joy and friendship. I was with them for eight years and it often served as the most grounding part of my week. In fact, at the time of writing this, I am less than one month post my final shift and am feeling a deep longing to visit the residents.
But ask me today and I would give you a very different response.
I would talk about effective giving and trying to maximise what good I can do given my resources (social, financial, political). I would also talk about making a contribution to issues that aren’t typically politically viable. (Governments are less likely to work on multi-generational issues that they can’t easily communicate and showcase to present day voters). Finally, I might make a case to work on the stuff that, even if unlikely, would have the potential to radically increase wellbeing for generations to come.
In effect, I have moved away from being driven by my heart toward balancing my head and heart on a scale made out of complexity and murkiness. There is no right or wrong and I wouldn’t want to shoot anyone down for trying their best. In fact, if you’re currently giving away your wealth, time, or effort — thank you. The world needs more of you.
I simply dare you to challenge how your views are informed and whether you could be having more impact whilst giving away the exact same amount.
Now this sounds simple but there are of course many ways to define impact. Including but not limited to comparing across durability and depth of impact. These are all things you should work through. A starting point might be this helpful guide from 80,000 hours. The effective altruism community encourages us to consider three principles when determining where to focus.
Importance — if progress is made, how much social impact would result? (Is it possible to significantly improve the experience or wellbeing of many, many people?)
Neglected — how much effort will be invested in this problem by others? (Does it receive insufficient attention, resources, effort?)
Tractability — how easy is it to make progress per unit of resources? (To what extent can you add value here?)
These principles become increasingly useful as you consider more issue areas to compare. You will begin to understand the relative impact you could have and the opportunity cost of your efforts. Of course it’s not a complete picture, but I think it’s a great starting point. Tools like this help introduce logic and reason alongside our empathy when it comes to doing good. Without the head though, our empathy will trick us into assuming we are doing the most good we can. Don’t be fooled by your own best intentions.
