Ep. 20 What’s Effective Altruism and what are some alternatives?

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Alice Crary and Lori Gruen talk about what is effective altruism, why it's harmful and what are alternatives which already exist. Should we measure the effectiveness of an act meant to benefit another? How do we decide its effectiveness and for whom it’s effective - for the beneficiary? For the actor? And why should we be thinking about effectiveness when we’re talking about doing something that’s meant to do good or change minds?

Alice and Lori have edited, and contributed to, a collection of essays on the topic, along with Carol J. Adam, entitled The Good it Promises, the Harm it Does

Alice Crary is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at The New School for Social Research, a Visiting Fellow at Regent’s Park College in the University of Oxford and at the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility

Lori Gruen is the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Science in Society at Wesleyan University where she also coordinates Wesleyan Animal Studies.

Website/Socials

Alice Crary: https://alicecrary.com

Lori Gruen: https://www.lorigruen.com Emi Leese

https://emilialeese.substack.com http://thinklikeavegan.com http://emilialeese.com @emi.leese or @thinklikeavegan, Instagram, Facebook, X, Threads

Credits

Host: Emilia A. Leese

Guests: Dr Alice Crary and Dr Lori Gruen

Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions; https://www.bloodyvegansproductions.com

Graphics: Catherine Dorrell https://www.messyvegancook.com

Music

Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business

Interlude: "Fuurin Sanpo" by Matthew Gerstenberger; Seismicity on Soundcloud https://on.soundcloud.com/3Pf8g

Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business

This podcast is part of iROAR, the Animals Podcasting Network https://iroarpod.com