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"There is a growing movement called effective altruism. It's important because it combines both the heart and the head."
Peter Singer, TED2013
(Original source: TED Conferences LLC, www.ted.com)
Welcome to our new website! We would like to launch our new blog by featuring the recent TED talk given by our founder, Peter Singer, about "effective altruism". Effective altruism is a movement sprung from the work of intellectual leaders such as Peter, and it involves trying to make the world as good as possible, using evidence and reason to find out how. Peter begins his talk with the bad news: there is a great deal of suffering in the world. He presents a real life version of his famous Drowning Child story (I was going to attempt to describe what Peter shows but I am welling up just thinking about it, so please just watch it for yourself!) Luckily, this is followed by the good news: effective altruism is a powerful and deeply fulfilling way to fight this suffering, and we are already making substantial progress. Peter mentions several individuals and organizations that are part of this rapidly growing effective altruism movement, including The Life You Can Save, 80,000 Hours (careers advice service for effective altruists) and Effective Animal Activism (animal charity evaluator).
We hope you enjoy the new website. If you are new to The Life You Can Save, please get started by taking a look at our list of cost-effective charities and subscribing to our newsletter. The book remains a fantastic resource for further information. You can meet other supporters by visiting a local group or attending an event near you and we encourage you to join us in changing the culture of giving by spreading the word. Then, when you feel ready, take the pledge! We are working on individualized pledge pages where you will be able to record your giving, track your progress and see the good that your donations achieve for the world's poorest people. But you can sign up for an account now if you want to contact other pledgers and share your story on the website. Or simply comment on this post and tell us about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do? …Where are you going and what do you want to do? Is there room for effective altruism in your life?
Holly Morgan and Charlie Bresler are Co-Executive Directors of The Life You Can Save.
