“I think there’s a lot to learn from this podcast about changes that can be made to improve the world, and the variety has been good so far.
However, I found it almost...disturbing to hear (in the organ donation episode) about such a utilitarian view of altruism, that the number of people saved is what’s most important. As someone who volunteers my time to entertain children in hospital, I see firsthand the value of putting smiles on their faces, so saying that it’s not worth the money to have Make A Wish and letting kids be kids is quite upsetting to me. I don’t think you can compare situations/lives the way they do, though I do agree that saving lives is important (I’d just be less arrogant about the fact, and still give credit to charitable acts that improve quality of lives).
I get that it’s ~effective~ altruism, but when they start measuring what gives the most “payoff” (based on lives saved/time lived) for charitable actions it sound like a business transaction in which they say money somewhere that doesn’t aim to save lives is a waste, and I’m not really about that.
Otherwise, the rest of the episodes have been interesting and quick listens.”
2485-8885238044 via Apple Podcasts ·
Australia ·
11/12/18