“The virtues of virtue signalling” by Martin Jacobson 🔸

This is a link post. TLDR/Context: For some time, I donated 10% of my income anonymously, without telling my friends and family or sharing it on social media. I was worried that bringing up one's charitable donations would be perceived as bragging or virtue signaling. However, I also believe there are important sociological reasons why we should be open about our pro-social behavior. People are largely influenced by the behavior of others around them. So by being public about donations, one also provides ‘social proof’ of such actions, helping spread a wider norm of effective giving. To deal with these conflicting issues, I wrote this essay outlining the reasons for giving effectively and for doing so publicly. I felt more comfortable being public about my donations if I could also explain the reason why I was public about them. A few weeks ago the essay was published on the [...] ---Outline:(02:14) 1. Why Altruism?(08:02) 2. Societys Persecuted Minority: Do-Gooders(11:30) 3. A Theory of Moral Sentiments and Amoral Behaviour(15:27) 4. Normalise It!The original text contained 24 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: December 20th, 2024 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/3JScezgm5L3gdwsdB/the-virtues-of-virtue-signalling --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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