If you had told 13-year-old me that I would be voluntarily reading a nonfiction book on rationality and altruism, I would have probably laughed in your face. Yet, here I am, 4 years later, frantically connecting statistical dots, usually well past midnight. The book, Map and Territory by Eliezer Yudkowsky, presents the very first chapter called “Scope Insensitivity,” which explores the idea that humans either cannot or do not fully comprehend the quantity of situations they’re analyzing, especially when exponential increases come into play.
Scope neglect is a widely recognized cognitive bias, and Facebook has seen its ploys all too well.
Ironically, the majority of people “advocating for the right to life” are more than outspoken about the 862,320 abortions performed in the United States in 2017, but radio silent on other pressing issues. I’m not here to tell people how to live their lives, but I’m also not here to tolerate hypocrisy.
- The Venn diagram of those who are actively “pro-life” and those who refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of Covid-19 is a circle. A shame, because over 640,000-and-counting Americans have died from the virus. The vaccine is proven to be effective at preventing Covid death, but many self-proclaimed advocates continue to spread rampant misinformation on their platforms, calling the vaccine everything from socialism to the mark of the beast.Take the pandemic seriously. Masks work. It’s no magical coincidence that rates of the common cold and the flu skyrocketed when the mask restrictions did, and the sooner we reduce Covid transmission, the sooner we can get back to life as we know it. Maybe the death rate is less than 1%, but those deaths are people with stories, families, and a life to get back to. Vaccines work. Hospitalizations are reduced significantly in vaccinated individuals, and it’s absolutely worth the two days of shoulder pain.
- The same people conveniently ignore the 15,000+ deaths from gun violence in 2019, not including the 23,941 reported suicides. Even the NRA has historically supported gun restrictions that don’t reduce accessibility to those who can safely have them, just those who can’t.Help your representatives come up with effective strategies to reduce gun violence. Marginalized people are far more likely to fall victim to gun violence and other attacks, but they’re also more likely to be restricted from owning a firearm, even though they’re perfectly capable. Keep firearms out of the hands of those who don’t need them but in the hands of those it’s necessary for.
- The AIDS epidemic began at the top of Ronald Reagan’s administration in 1981, with the disease being observed predominantly in New York and California during that summer. The epidemic was pushed under the rug until more than four years later, when Reagan finally addressed the issue for the first time. By then, the damage had already been done. Reagan and his supporters said nothing about the epidemic, but he was more than willing to contribute an article to the Human Life Review explaining that “we cannot diminish the value of one category of human life,” even though he effectively ignored an epidemic that affected predominantly queer people.Do not fail to acknowledge the struggles of LGBTQ youth who did not grow up with efficient queer leaders, because their role models were effectively taken from them during a preventable epidemic. Likewise, do not advocate against the rights of anyone, even those who live in ways that you do not agree with. LGBTQ accommodation is suicide prevention, and that is advocacy for life and the quality thereof.
- Arguably the most hypocritical argument against abortion is that of “pro-lifers” who support the death penalty. The flawed logic lies in the assumption that it is immoral to “murder an unborn child,” but it’s somehow not immoral to murder an actual sentient human being – even worse, at the hands of the government, which is known to enforce discriminatory ideals. Introducing: capital punishment. From 1976 to 2020, 1,529 people were reported to have been executed by the US government. I have personally observed people say with their whole chest that they’re pro-life and pro-death penalty, which is subjectively problematic and inarguably a contradiction.Understand that the justice system and, consequently, the death penalty are flawed systems that bear the weight of innocent bloodshed on their shoulders every single year. It is fundamentally impossible to be an advocate for life while simultaneously advocating for government-sanctioned murder.
Of course, hearing about so many preventable deaths feels heart wrenching and hopeless, but consider: they are preventable. There are more effective ways to reduce rates of preventable death, just as there are more effective ways to prevent abortion if you look further back than the procedure.
So, how to tackle the abortion issue? Widely. There is a chain of command in place, and it does not begin or end at abortion procedures.
- Work from the bottom of the pyramid up, starting with comprehensive sex education in schools, which is proven to reduce teen pregnancy. When students are exposed to ideas that aren’t “do not have sex; you will get pregnant, and you will die,” from Mean Girls, they begin forming their own ideas and making better decisions.
- Make birth control and emergency contraception accessible, and that means making them affordable as well. Over 100 countries already have birth control available over the counter, and many reputable organizations advocate for accessibility. It should go without saying that accessible birth control for sexually active teenagers and adults is effective at preventing pregnancy.
Support more funding for the foster care system. Support refugees and immigrants seeking a better life here. Support your local unhoused people. Support the rights of LGBTQ parents to foster and adopt children so long as they provide a safe and loving home. Support demographics that are denied life-saving healthcare time and time again. Support access to HIV testing and treatments.
Effective altruism includes understanding scope sensitivity. You have to see big numbers and think of big problems, urgency. As Yudkowsky explains, “you have to think it through with the part of your brain that processes those unexciting inky zeroes on paper,” not just the one instance you read about on Facebook.
Image credit: Maria Oswalt