The Most Good You Can Do
by Peter Singer · first published 2015
11mentions
6recommended by
11HN commenters
2015–2022first – last mentioned
55% recommend45% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Introduces effective altruism as a framework for choosing charities by measurable impact. Makes the utilitarian case for donating clear, offers a new way to think about giving, and suits readers new to the idea.
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I've read this book together with the two books about Effective Altruism bei Peter Singer (The Life You Can Save and The Most Good You Can Do), and I have to say these books have really changed my life. I know it sounds cheesy, but I've never read books that had such a lasting influence on me. Those books provide just the right rational and…
on “The ‘effective altruists’” ↗…has changed my life: I'm now giving at least 10% of my income to cost-effective charities thanks to the ideas behind the movement. Good books to start with: The Life You Can Save - Peter Singer The Most Good You Can Do - Peter Singer Doing Good Better - William MacAskill
on “Why philosophers could be the ones to transform your 2020” ↗Another good book on effective altruism is The Most Good You Can Do by Peter Singer. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23168483-the-most-good-y... It's clear that Bill and Melinda Gates are practicing effective altruism in an effort to do the most good with their…
on “Tough questions we get asked: 2018 Annual Letter” ↗…larger impact than volunteering. I agree volunteering can have a greater personal benefit, but from a utilitarian standpoint donating is better. Peter Singer makes this argument very well in his book the most good you can do.
on “Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke” ↗…man-years of charity work, but makes no appreciable amount of money to multiply his efforts If you're interested in a better explanation of this with regard to charity, I would check out Singer's book "The Most Good You Can Do", which is an exploration on the theory of effective altruism.
on “Chuck Feeney: a billionaire who gave it all away” ↗Read "The most good you can do".
on “Ask HN: I implemented the life I designed: perfect but I feel lost. What now?” ↗Peter Singer just-released 10th-anniversary edition from The Most Good You Can Do and it is free https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/the-book/ it is one way to look at what is the best way to help people.
I wonder how that compares with "The Most Good You Can Do". https://www.amazon.com/Most-Good-You-Can-Effective/dp/030018...
on “Can this cooler save kids from dying?” ↗…high leverage.)" -- Caroline Ellison CEO of Alameda Research, responding to Scott Alexander of SSC in Feb 2021 "take advantage of strategies other people are biased against using" -- Peter Singer, "The Most Good You Can Do"
on “Kraken lays off 30% of staff” ↗…article, and your comment. People get way tied up in knots by all the weird AI stuff and then don't do anything. I think I would actually like to cite Peter Singer on this -- in one of his books (maybe The Most Good You Can Do?) he talks about how we have a moral imperative to follow our beliefs wherever they lead us, even if it's somewhere unintuitive. He extrapolates from the idea of ruining your shoes to save a drowning…
on “Effective altruism as a tower of assumptions” ↗…charity of the same name, designed to make your charity dollar do the most good. The site also has info on the best charities to give to. https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/ He followed that book with The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically (2015) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Good_You_Can_Do Slightly off-topic: I'm (genuinely) curious what other essays you had in…
on “The Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics (2015)” ↗