Introductory course
Harness the power of reason and evidence to maximise your positive impact on the world through our comprehensive Effective Altruism introductory course.
Learn about the core ideas of effective altruism
Through this introductory course, you’ll learn the key ideas of EA with a small group of like-minded people from the Netherlands.
Guided by a facilitator, you’ll gain access to curated materials and practical exercises to help you have a greater impact in your career, donations and other projects.
How it works
Following this intro course is free. Groups consist of 4-6 participants, with which you will meet up weekly to discuss the articles read during the previous week.
Our next programme will start in September 2024, and the deadline for applying for this is August 12. If you’d like to start before then you can sign up for the international virtual programme here.
Topics
Covered
- Who should we care about helping?
- How much better are the best options to do good?
- What can we do to prevent the next pandemic?
- How can we make better decisions together?
- How does climate change compare to other risks?
Curriculum introductory course
Week 1
Introduction to EA
We will start off by diving into the how and why of Effective Altruism. We will look at our opportunity to make an impact through the lense of philosophy as well as economics.
Week 2
Global health and development
During this week, we will dive into opportunities to improve global health and poverty. You will learn about various methods that are used to compare and identify the most promising interventions.
Week 3
Expanding our circle of concern
Should we care about non-human animals? We’ll show how it can be important to care impartially, rather than ignoring weird topics or unusual beneficiaries. We’ll also introduce you to the expected value theory.
Week 4
Longtermism & existential risk
Topic of discussion this week are the effects of our actions on the long-term future. In addition, we will consider how serious we should take run-away climate change scenarios, pandemic prevention and aligning artificial intelligence.
Week 5
Putting it into practice
During this week, we will discuss how you can apply Effective Altruism to your own life. With your group, you will explore how you can use your skills and background to maximize your social impact.
View full syllabus
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