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Beyond Good Intentions: The Need for Error Correction in Effective Altruism

  • Article
  • Jan 13, 2023
  • #Charity(practice)
Sven Schnieders
@SvenSchnieders
(Author)
unfashionable.blog
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One of my major concerns with Effective Altruists is their lack of epistemic humility. They exhibit unwarranted confidence in their ability to reason about problems, which subsequen... Show More

One of my major concerns with Effective Altruists is their lack of epistemic humility. They exhibit unwarranted confidence in their ability to reason about problems, which subsequently results in the absence of any error correction mechanisms.

In the spirit of Popper and Deutsch, I believe that error correction is of paramount importance in all our endeavors. For instance, it is the very reason why freedom of speech is so crucial. The loss of freedom of speech results in the loss of our ability to correct errors pertaining to certain subjects.

Error correction is also the most compelling argument in favor of Democracy. To put it succinctly, Democracy is not about selecting the most exceptional leaders, but rather about the ability to remove ineffective leaders and alter detrimental laws without resorting to violence. It is fundamentally about the ability to correct errors.

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Shiri Dori-Hacohen♿️🧠✡️ (🚫🥄s) @ShirKi · Jun 3, 2023
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Thanks for sharing. Great read.
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