What can philosophers teach philanthropists?

Theories of Well Being and the Love of Humanity

For thousands of years, humanity has asked what it means to live well? How can we live well together and how can we increase individual well-being? In spite of this prominent and continuous questioning, too often, it is glaringly missing from discussions, policies, and goals focused on improving the lives of those who are most disadvantaged. For billions of people on the planet, well-being or living well is touted as a priority among policy makers and philanthropists, yet the results often fail to impress the very people they are set out to serve.

Often goals and policies are developed in siloes in various disciplines: economics, sociology, religion, and politics. This approach tends to focus on what is instrumentally good for us, identifying what tools we need to live well. Funding is then directed in programmatic themes for very specific development goals. Most recently Mark Zuckerberg has pledged $3 billion for the sole purpose of eliminating disease. The thinking behind this strategy would therefore appear to be, increase the number of years to people’s lives and lives will be improved. Yet, when we explore theories of well being, more often than not, we find that happiness is multivalent. It is of limited surprise then, that we still struggle to define what will deliver the good life that we have sought since Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and before.

The word philanthropy can be traced back to the Greek “to love humanity”. If the authentic goal of philanthropy is to love humanity, it becomes apparent why simply working towards a laundry list of items, with the hope to increase well being, would fall short. This strips away the compassion and human component of well being. How we work together is as important as the work. How we live together is as important as the life.

“When economists think about human happiness, they of course tend to emphasize the role of personal income; libertarians emphasize personal freedoms; sociologists emphasize social capital including generalized trust in the society; and political scientists emphasize the constitutional order and the control of corruption.” - Jefferey Sachs, World Happiness Report, Chapter IV, (p57) 2016

Philosophical theories of well being can teach us how to better define well being, which could be a key influence on philanthropic strategy. The effective altruism movement is one such example. Their mantra is to “do good better”. Arguing that we should each do the most good in the world, effective altruists believe that our altruistic actions must also be guided by reason and evidence. Their goal tends to focus on alleviating suffering and improving the lives of those who suffer the most. I will leave the evaluation of this theory for another time. For now, I feel we ought to first take a step or two back.

What is it to “do good”?

Recently, Branco Sekalegga, (Founder of Bitone, Uganda, working with children affected by conflict, poverty, and violence) said to me that he felt it was more important to him that I believe in him, his vision and his values, than any dollar I could give. Which made me realize, instruments that can help build a good life (think about all the charitable programs focused on goats, wells, sanitary towels, books etc)are not enough in and of themselves to increase well-being. More dollars thrown at more causes, no matter the evidence and reason that advocates for them, cannot provide the whole solution. We must also account for other intrinsic values: dignity, self-respect, autonomy, love, compassion. Our common humanity, and living well together, is an intrinsic part of well-being and must be woven into the fabric of global philanthropy and development goals.

In recent years, there have been some interesting discussions among philosophers that explore a more complex definition of well being that might explain why he felt this way. Hybrid theories take from the more commonly discussed linear theories of well being and try to weave all of the things that are of value to us together. If we can take the most promising aspects, and nurture the values they identify, we could perhaps increase well being for our global community. A very simplified list of potential ingredients for this hybrid recipe could include the following theories:

• Well being is defined and measured by the amount of pleasure over pain in one’s life (hedonist theories, effective altruism)
• Well being is defined by getting what one wants and desires out of life (desire fulfillment theories)
• Well being is defined by nurturing and developing one’s human nature and exemplifying an excellent life by nature of who one is as a human being (perfectionism, Aristotle)
• Well being is a combination of these things (in their entirety) and we can create a list of what comprises a life well lived (Pluralist theories, World Happiness Report, psychology and sociology indexes)

Perhaps hybrid theories of well being can avoid the limitations of earlier theories. A simple life of pleasure may not be enough to define a life well lived, but when merged with achievement, or desire, or excelling at exemplifying our very human characteristics, we might be able to get a little bit closer. These emerging, multidimensional theories also offer insights into what combination of intrinsic values are of most, or least, importance.

For example, objections to defining well being as a combination of feeling pleasure in fulfilling one’s desires (pleasure and desire fulfillment hybrid theory), have suggested that sometimes a person who has been victim of trauma and a life of suffering, may be unaware of what exactly it is they could desire for a better life. This surely doesn’t take away from the fact that well being is improved if and when the child achieves self respect and dignity and a life free from abuse. So where does this leave desire within the formula for well being?

“The most important thing we can give a child is the desire for a different life, for them to realize that they are deserving of self respect and opportunity.” - Trauma counselor, Gaya, India (working with children who are victims of sex trafficking and child labour)

It seems that it can certainly help us think about how to live well, and not just simply live longer. As emerging philanthropists, from places like Silicon Valley, promote and shout about creating a better world for us all, I think it is a critical time for philosophers to join the conversation and challenge philanthropists to a deeper conversation.

So what can philosophy teach us? I think they can teach us to think more deeply on how we can practice philanthropy, the love of humanity. Philosophers can remind us that well being is complex.

Improving lives won’t miraculously happen if we throw money at it. It is personal. It is what makes us human. It must be values- driven and grounded within our humanity. It must be defined.

While we are living together on this planet, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could learn to live well together, not just for the longest amount of time? Philosophers may be just the ones to teach us how.

#wellbeing #philosophy #globalgoals #hyrbid #ethics #philanthropy #humanity