Compassion Cartography: Mapping the Psychological Landscape of Equitable and Effective Altruism

Описание: Kyle Law, postdoctoral associate, psychology and neuroscience, Boston College

Talk Title (abstract below): "Compassion Cartography: Mapping the Psychological Landscape of Equitable and Effective Altruism"

This presentation is part of the Moral Psychology Research Group 2024 conference on Penn State's University Park Campus in November 2024.

Hosted by the Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and Daryl Cameron, associate professor of psychology, Penn State, and senior research associate in tthe Rock Ethics Institute.

Sponsored by:

Penn State College of the Liberal Arts
Penn State Rock Ethics Institute
Penn State Social Science Research Institute
The McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Penn State Department of Philosophy
Penn State Department of Psychology
Penn State University Libraries

ABSTRACT: "I present evidence from an investigation exploring empathy, reasoning, and
prosocial behavior among three groups: effective altruists (EAs—impactprioritizing
philanthropists), extraordinary altruists (XAs—living organ
donors), and controls (N=360). While XAs have higher empathic ability and
EAs demonstrate stronger reasoning skills, both increased empathy and
reasoning predict greater equitable and effective altruistic behaviors across
groups. These findings challenge the idea that empathy and reasoning are in
conflict and suggest that exceptional altruism often requires both working
together."