It does seem to me the payoff for pushing the button should be equal to how much it would take to bribe you not to make all your purchasing decisions contingent on a thorough investigation of the human/animal rights practices of every company you buy from and all their upstream suppliers. Those who don’t currently do this (me included) are apparently already being compensated sufficiently, however much that is.
Perhaps you are setting the demands too high. I think the button scenario is relevantly different in the amount of sacrifice/inconvenience it requires. Making all-things-concerned ethical purchases is a lot more difficult than resisting the temptation of ten dollars (although the difference does become smaller the more you press it in some given timescale).
Maybe this is something you view as “cheating” or a rationalization of cognitive dissonance as you explain in the other comment, but I genuinely think that a highly altruistic life may still involve making lots of imperfect choices. The amount of money one donates, for instance, and where to, is probably more important in terms of suffering prevented than the effects of personal consumption.
Being an altruist makes you your own most important resource. Preventing loss of motivation or burnout is then a legitimate concern that warrants keeping a suitable amount of self-interested comfort. And it is also worth noting that people differ individually in how easily altruism comes to them. Some may simply enjoy doing it or may enjoy the signalling aspects, while others might have trouble motivating themselves or even be uncomfortable with talking to others about ethics. One’s social circle is also a huge influence. These are all things to take into account; it would be unreasonable to compare yourself to a utility-maximizing robot.
Obviously this needn’t be an all-or-nothing kind of thing. Pushing the button just once a week is already much better than never pushing it.
The amount of money one donates, for instance, and where to, is probably more important in terms of suffering prevented than the effects of personal consumption.
That’s a testable assertion. How confident are you that you would follow the path of self consistency if upon being tested the assertion turned out to be false? Someone who chooses pragmatism only needs to fight their own ignorance to be self consistent while someone who does not has to fight both their own ignorance and all too often their own pragmatism in order to be slf-consistent.
Yes, it’s testable and the estimates so far strongly support my claim. (I’m constantly on the lookout for data of this kind to improve my effectiveness.) I wouldn’t have trouble adjusting because I’m already trying to reduce my unethical consumption through habit forming (which basically comes down to being vegan and avoiding expensive stuff). Even if its not very effective compared to other things, as long as I don’t have opportunity costs, it is still something positive. I’m just saying that even for people who won’t, for whatever reasons, make changes to the kind of stuff they buy, these people could still reduce a lot of suffering by donating to the most effective cause.
I wonder if pragmatists are less likely to reject information they don’t want to hear since their self interest is their terminal goal, so for example entertaining the possibility that Malthus can be right in some instances does not imply that they must unilaterally sacrifice themselves.
Perhaps the reason so many transhumanists are peak oil deniers and global warming deniers is that both of these are Malthusian scenarios that would put the immediate needs of those less fortunate in direct and obvious opposition to the costly, delayed-payoff projects we advocate.
I appreciate the honest reply!
Perhaps you are setting the demands too high. I think the button scenario is relevantly different in the amount of sacrifice/inconvenience it requires. Making all-things-concerned ethical purchases is a lot more difficult than resisting the temptation of ten dollars (although the difference does become smaller the more you press it in some given timescale).
Maybe this is something you view as “cheating” or a rationalization of cognitive dissonance as you explain in the other comment, but I genuinely think that a highly altruistic life may still involve making lots of imperfect choices. The amount of money one donates, for instance, and where to, is probably more important in terms of suffering prevented than the effects of personal consumption.
Being an altruist makes you your own most important resource. Preventing loss of motivation or burnout is then a legitimate concern that warrants keeping a suitable amount of self-interested comfort. And it is also worth noting that people differ individually in how easily altruism comes to them. Some may simply enjoy doing it or may enjoy the signalling aspects, while others might have trouble motivating themselves or even be uncomfortable with talking to others about ethics. One’s social circle is also a huge influence. These are all things to take into account; it would be unreasonable to compare yourself to a utility-maximizing robot.
Obviously this needn’t be an all-or-nothing kind of thing. Pushing the button just once a week is already much better than never pushing it.
That’s a testable assertion. How confident are you that you would follow the path of self consistency if upon being tested the assertion turned out to be false? Someone who chooses pragmatism only needs to fight their own ignorance to be self consistent while someone who does not has to fight both their own ignorance and all too often their own pragmatism in order to be slf-consistent.
Yes, it’s testable and the estimates so far strongly support my claim. (I’m constantly on the lookout for data of this kind to improve my effectiveness.) I wouldn’t have trouble adjusting because I’m already trying to reduce my unethical consumption through habit forming (which basically comes down to being vegan and avoiding expensive stuff). Even if its not very effective compared to other things, as long as I don’t have opportunity costs, it is still something positive. I’m just saying that even for people who won’t, for whatever reasons, make changes to the kind of stuff they buy, these people could still reduce a lot of suffering by donating to the most effective cause.
I wonder if pragmatists are less likely to reject information they don’t want to hear since their self interest is their terminal goal, so for example entertaining the possibility that Malthus can be right in some instances does not imply that they must unilaterally sacrifice themselves.
Perhaps the reason so many transhumanists are peak oil deniers and global warming deniers is that both of these are Malthusian scenarios that would put the immediate needs of those less fortunate in direct and obvious opposition to the costly, delayed-payoff projects we advocate.