Joshua Greene is a professor in the Harvard Department of Psychology where he runs the Moral Cognition Lab. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and then a PhD in philosophy at Princeton where he was mentored by many bright lights of analytical philosophy, including Peter Singer, who served on his committee. After doing a post-doc in a a cognitive neuroscience lab, Greene returned to Harvard to begin his own lab, the Moral Cognition Lab, which studies both descriptive and normative psychology and philosophy.
Read MoreWhat can universities do to empower student change-makers to address major global challenges? In this report, we develop the outline of a program that can deliver tools to students change-makers through different channels, including a full syllabus for a course on Effective Altruism.
Read MoreWe analyzed climate change from a high-level perspective, exploring various potential philanthropic interventions: Direct emissions reductions, adaptation, R&D, advocacy/litigation, and climate finance. We recommend fighting coal power in asia, building capacity in the US at local levels, and investing in innovative climate finance models.
Read MoreIn this report, we considered four broad interventions: post-publication peer review, quantitative metrics for transparency (e.g. “transparency index”), tenure criteria, and characterizing dependency relationships between pieces of research. All of these categories can be implemented in different ways, and can improve reproducibility through multiple channels.
Read MoreThis Philanthropy Advisory Fellowship report identified innovative approaches and organizations in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) space. This research was conducted on behalf of PAF client Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, combining scientific evidence on the most effective approaches with the unique demands of the client's venture philanthropy model.
Read MoreAlthough traditionally mental health has not been considered an immediate cause for concern in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is increasingly receiving more attention as the extent in which people suffer from various disorders has become apparent. Within this report, our team seeks to quantify and analyze the burden of mental health disorders in the region, estimate the cost-effectiveness of various interventions, recommend local organizations that are taking a scientifically-sound, scalable approach, and recommend promising research opportunities to develop new, highly cost-effective and scalable interventions.
Read MoreThe Philanthropy Advisory Fellowship (PAF) recruits Harvard graduate students from across the University to form multidisciplinary teams that advise philanthropists or foundations on how to achieve the most impact with their charitable dollars in a given cause area. Although we just started last semester, we have gotten off to a good start with major donors on board as clients and a competitive application process attracting talented Fellows.
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This is the Executive Summary of the final report from a Philanthropy Advisory Fellowship project on advising corporate philanthropy program. The PAF team has identified 13 charities as potential [program] partners. Of the 13 charities, 11 focus on poverty, one on diversity and one on violence.
Read MoreThis is the Executive Summary of the final report from a Philanthropy Advisory Fellowship project on Gene Drive research. The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations to philanthropists interested in funding a new genetic technology called “CRISPR gene drive.” This synthetic biology technology allows scientists to design genetically modified animals that can rapidly spread particular genes through wild populations.
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This simple statistic captures the power of the exponential growth in science that has been taking place over the past century. It is attributable to Derek de Solla Price, the father of scientometrics (i.e., the science of studying science), in his 1961 book Science Since Babylon. If science is growing exponentially, then the major technological advancements and upheavals of the past 200 years are only the tip of the iceberg.
Read MoreMercy for Animals (MFA) is a national non-profit animal protection organization that exposes farmed animal cruelty, works to eliminate the cruelest factory farming practices and promotes compassionate food choices and policies. In this interview, Education Project Coordinator Alan Darer describes MFA's philosophy, operations, and investigative findings, and shares his arguments for plant-based food consumption to reduce animal suffering.
Read MoreAs an active member of the Effective Altruism (EA) movement, I believe in the idea that we should do the most good for the world that we can given our limited time, energy, and resources. The movement has been gaining momentum with the publication of Doing Good Better, a new Amazon bestseller, and the start of EA Global this weekend, a series of conferences featuring luminaries such as Elon Musk and Peter Singer. EA asks us to think critically, strategically, and rationally about issues such as what global causes to prioritize, which careers will enable us to achieve the most social good, and which charities can reduce the most suffering per dollar spent.
Read MoreI want you to help save a life this summer. This year, 440 of the 550 members of the class of 2016 took jobs from private firms attending EIP, myself included. The overwhelming majority of these are very well paid: $3,000 a week in the major markets. It is a telling indicator of the vast economic privileges given us. But it also affords our class one of the greatest opportunities to serve the poor and oppressed that we so often chide the system of overlooking, yet so seldom prioritize with our own time and money.
Read MoreSuppose I told you about an investment that would easily generate a 60x return in a few years with very little risk. And then I tell you that some of the world’s top economists have looked at the opportunity and agreed with me.
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