Title Reference
It's been a while since I've posted. If any of my friends still read this - rather, if any of my friends checks randomly if I've posted, thanks.
There's too much to tell to give a superficial update on my life. Instead, I wanted to actually talk about some content.
I've recently started school again and I'm taking a course, APSC 262 - Tech in Society or something like that. It's a separate section that's done as a student directed seminar; we have no specific instructor, just fellow students who facilitate the class. It's like an honours discussion without a TA or honours students... except me ;)
Anyway, the course is amazing. It's been a while, being an engineer, to actually discuss problems without predefined answers prescribed by mathematics and physics. It's a little disheartening to find such ignorance among some of the students but it's a breath of fresh air to know some people who can talk a bit more about ethics, responsibility, etc on more than a superficial level.
I guess I'll get to the point as well as the title for this post, referencing my blog's title. I chose 'hedonistic altruism' more as a lark - a juxtaposition of words that amused me. I think I had in the back of my mind some deep rooted social commentary that I didn't really explore back then. This class has now given me some ammunition. Let's just get started with some examples and see if you can find the theme.
Engineers Without Boarders: They raise funds from across Canada to send some engineering students each year to Africa to help implement technology and publicize engineering.
First class case study quotes:
"Women having to work long hours; get up before sunrise and work well into dusk."
"Children having to huddle around the one light in the village for two hours during night to study."
"64% of the population lives on less than $2 a day."
Second class discussion:
We were asked to define "Appropriate Technology" alone, then get into groups and combine our brainstorming into one concise sentence. I couldn't brainstorm but instead just came up with this definition myself, "Tech that people can apply that reflects their education, resource and economic status." The group basically decides to go with my definition but really want to add environmentalism - which I strongly disagreed with.
So, can you figure out what they all had in common?
It was all an appeal to your emotions. EWB, while I completely support in principle, is a romanticized idea. Any 'without boarders' is appealing to helping through self-sacrifice but it's mostly a publicity medium. You want to be romantic about it? Go ahead... but why waste money on advertising that you are?
The quotes all appeal to your sensitivity to issues. These reports never mention the populace; never men. It's always the children with flies around their mouths and protruding bellies. It's always about the women who have to walk 10km for water. The $2 a day statistic is also particularly damning considering how impossible it is to accurately reflect living standards there and here. To be fair, they do try to normalize it but there's tons of error and far too many variables to properly construct an index. It's a direct appeal to your pity.
The last discussion reflects the ever growing popularity of being politically correct. Is it really relevant to someone who is starving that a grove of trees that could otherwise provide them food/shelter/etc stays intact for the environmental concerns of the future? For fuck's sake, if we care about the environment, we need to start in developed/near-developed nations that actually contribute to global climate change.
All of these are contributors to Hedonistic Altruism. We do these selfless acts of charity not to actually make these people's lives better but to make ourselves feel better. We trick ourselves into thinking it's okay that we're destroying the earth with our consumption as long as we give some of our wealth away to solve superficial problems.
I should clarify what I mean by superficial. There are, of course, countless individuals who are making a difference and I by no means mean to take it away from them. However, most people I talk to only pay lip-service attention to detail as far as a global mentality is concerned. One case study that we were to read before class discussed how engineers had come in many cases and build elaborate water devices that fell into disrepair because the populace didn't have the means to repair them. Another discussed how other engineers created a low-tech solution but still missed the primary reason why the area suffers from disease. It's not enough to provide clean water but to provide proper education with regards to sanitation. Either way, my point is that these engineers really felt great about themselves - as do the millions of people who just think giving a small penance of their cash away will truly alleviate poverty in developing nations - as do a significant portion of my peers who think by claiming moral superiority by saying 'you guys should not be like us; take care of your environment' feel better about themselves.
All I'm saying is that it's hypocritical to take these stances and everyone really needs to stop taking a lot of problems at face value. Am I immune? Absolutely not. I basically forgot about the needs of sanitation because I take it for granted. Even though I have recognized nearly a decade ago as a youth that the greatest contribution to health has never been something by a researcher or doctor but by an engineer: the sewer system.
I'll try to clean up my thoughts more at some other point because this is actually quite important to me... maybe even write an essay that's much more coherent. Bed time otherwise though.
There's too much to tell to give a superficial update on my life. Instead, I wanted to actually talk about some content.
I've recently started school again and I'm taking a course, APSC 262 - Tech in Society or something like that. It's a separate section that's done as a student directed seminar; we have no specific instructor, just fellow students who facilitate the class. It's like an honours discussion without a TA or honours students... except me ;)
Anyway, the course is amazing. It's been a while, being an engineer, to actually discuss problems without predefined answers prescribed by mathematics and physics. It's a little disheartening to find such ignorance among some of the students but it's a breath of fresh air to know some people who can talk a bit more about ethics, responsibility, etc on more than a superficial level.
I guess I'll get to the point as well as the title for this post, referencing my blog's title. I chose 'hedonistic altruism' more as a lark - a juxtaposition of words that amused me. I think I had in the back of my mind some deep rooted social commentary that I didn't really explore back then. This class has now given me some ammunition. Let's just get started with some examples and see if you can find the theme.
Engineers Without Boarders: They raise funds from across Canada to send some engineering students each year to Africa to help implement technology and publicize engineering.
First class case study quotes:
"Women having to work long hours; get up before sunrise and work well into dusk."
"Children having to huddle around the one light in the village for two hours during night to study."
"64% of the population lives on less than $2 a day."
Second class discussion:
We were asked to define "Appropriate Technology" alone, then get into groups and combine our brainstorming into one concise sentence. I couldn't brainstorm but instead just came up with this definition myself, "Tech that people can apply that reflects their education, resource and economic status." The group basically decides to go with my definition but really want to add environmentalism - which I strongly disagreed with.
So, can you figure out what they all had in common?
It was all an appeal to your emotions. EWB, while I completely support in principle, is a romanticized idea. Any 'without boarders' is appealing to helping through self-sacrifice but it's mostly a publicity medium. You want to be romantic about it? Go ahead... but why waste money on advertising that you are?
The quotes all appeal to your sensitivity to issues. These reports never mention the populace; never men. It's always the children with flies around their mouths and protruding bellies. It's always about the women who have to walk 10km for water. The $2 a day statistic is also particularly damning considering how impossible it is to accurately reflect living standards there and here. To be fair, they do try to normalize it but there's tons of error and far too many variables to properly construct an index. It's a direct appeal to your pity.
The last discussion reflects the ever growing popularity of being politically correct. Is it really relevant to someone who is starving that a grove of trees that could otherwise provide them food/shelter/etc stays intact for the environmental concerns of the future? For fuck's sake, if we care about the environment, we need to start in developed/near-developed nations that actually contribute to global climate change.
All of these are contributors to Hedonistic Altruism. We do these selfless acts of charity not to actually make these people's lives better but to make ourselves feel better. We trick ourselves into thinking it's okay that we're destroying the earth with our consumption as long as we give some of our wealth away to solve superficial problems.
I should clarify what I mean by superficial. There are, of course, countless individuals who are making a difference and I by no means mean to take it away from them. However, most people I talk to only pay lip-service attention to detail as far as a global mentality is concerned. One case study that we were to read before class discussed how engineers had come in many cases and build elaborate water devices that fell into disrepair because the populace didn't have the means to repair them. Another discussed how other engineers created a low-tech solution but still missed the primary reason why the area suffers from disease. It's not enough to provide clean water but to provide proper education with regards to sanitation. Either way, my point is that these engineers really felt great about themselves - as do the millions of people who just think giving a small penance of their cash away will truly alleviate poverty in developing nations - as do a significant portion of my peers who think by claiming moral superiority by saying 'you guys should not be like us; take care of your environment' feel better about themselves.
All I'm saying is that it's hypocritical to take these stances and everyone really needs to stop taking a lot of problems at face value. Am I immune? Absolutely not. I basically forgot about the needs of sanitation because I take it for granted. Even though I have recognized nearly a decade ago as a youth that the greatest contribution to health has never been something by a researcher or doctor but by an engineer: the sewer system.
I'll try to clean up my thoughts more at some other point because this is actually quite important to me... maybe even write an essay that's much more coherent. Bed time otherwise though.
posted by Charlie at 10:50 PM
1 Comments:
As unfortunate as it is, charities like EWB would not get nearly the amount of funding they do without playing on our pity. I don't see this as something that needs to be fixed; if writing "women" and "children" generates more money for the cause, then by all means they should do so. The men benifit as do the women and children.
EWB does not, as far as I can tell, spend large sums of money on promoting themselves for the sake of it. Like any buisness, the point of promotion is to generate revenue. In the case of EWB, this money goes to charitable causes, and hence it only makes sense for them to advertise insofar as this generates more money. It is true that other factors come into play. Many people want to help but don't want to spend a year working in Africa. Thus they spend their time promoting the cause at home. Of course, so many people do this that it is of questionable value. In these cases, it seems that all is achieved is self-gratification. However, EWB as a whole, and those who actually go abroad, are making a positive difference.
I agree that elaborate constructions (those that fall into disrepair) are a waste of time and energy. However, simple projects such as wells are very useful. Sure, the area may not have proper sanitation, but water is still a precious commodity. Ideally, all communities could be provided with both, but when there are only resources enough for one, a well and no sanitization is still better than no well and no sanitization.
The big point I want to make regards the environment. Here I disagree with you completely. Yes, the locals may prefer to hunt animals and cut down trees than preserve them. After all, if it is a choice between conservation and starvation, most anyone would go out there and shoot an animal. The same applies to Canada. Fishing restrictions and logging restriction cause job loss. People are forced into poverty. In both cases however, the environment has to be a priority. It is very short sighted to yeild to the considerations of these individuals. The price of cutting down a grove of trees now will be felt for generations to come. The earth does not have an infinite ability to sustain life.
Moreover, I don't think the idea is to put the burden of sustainability on such countries. There are a lot of environmental measures in Canada, and they are enforced a lot better than in most developing nations. The idea is that everyone has to take care of the environment.
Post a Comment
<< Home