Will MacAskill is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is also one of the founders of the Effective Altruism movement and the author of Doing Good Better.

In this conversation, Joe and Will discuss the origins, the why, and the how of Effective Altruism — an exciting movement and philosophy that can help you do good better.

Show notes

Selected links

• Follow Will: Website | Twitter

• 80,000 Hours

• Centre for Effective Altruism

• Giving What We Can

• Global Priorities Institute

• PlayPumps

• Against Malaria Foundation

• Will’s IQ2 debate against Giles Fraser

• Doing Good Better, by Will MacAskill

Topics discussed

• Why are some charities better to give to than others? [3:27]

• The story of the founding of the effective altruism movement. [8:14]

• Why and when were ‘existential risks’ included as effective altruism cause areas? [14:27]

• Why is the diminishing marginal value of money an important concept for deciding which causes and charities to give to? [16:12]

• Why are overheads not a good metric by which to judge a charity’s effectiveness? [19:24]

• Why was Will skeptical of the ALS ‘ice bucket challenge’? [23:33]

• Common objections to effective altruism. [26:38]

• Why you should not follow your passions. [33:10]