Blog #1

While reading through “Is Art a Waste of Time?”, by Rhys Southan, there were two places in his writing that I noticed and found interesting. In this piece, Southan describes the activism group “Effective Altruism”, or “EA”,  and what he reported was very intriguing. For instance, something that struck me was his statement, “Replaceability is a core concept in EA. The idea that the only good that counts is what you accomplish over and above what the next person would have done in your place.” This made me think of a completely new idea that I have never thought about before. It makes the notion of reducing suffering and helping others become a competition. It seems like the goal in life is to be the most irreplaceable and to do the most good, but it is hard to know when you have done enough. This puts a lot of pressure on people to do more than they can even imagine to save lives and make the world a better place.

Another key point that shocked me was that one should pursue a career in something that pays well or helps people. One would use this money to donate and would use their job to help others. Southan states, “But there are plenty of people drawn to the media and the arts who care about making the world better. For them to accept the EA position will often require that they give up what they love to do most.” This makes me feel sad for artists who gives up their passion and their dreams because they are told that what they are doing is not enough. I do not agree with this part of the EA. I believe art is very valuable to our culture and the world, and should be conserved at all costs. It is not fair that those who have found their true calling in life have to give it up in order to be altruistic.