Aaron Miller - How to Help (Page 15)

Mar 14, 2024

Billionaire Philanthropy Is Falling (or is it?)

Billionaire philanthropy is changing from traditional giving to large foundations, moving to a wider variety of approaches like DAFs and LLCs. This article is an interview with the study researchers and is interesting throughout.

“The top 50 American individuals and couples who gave or pledged the most to charity in 2023 committed US$12 billion to foundations, universities, hospitals and more. That total was 28% below an inflation-adjusted $16.5 billion in 2022, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s latest annual tally of these donations.”

Donations by top 50 US donors fell again in 2023, sliding to $12B | The Conversation

Mar 13, 2024 Blog

Beauty-Related Words Improve Prosocial Tendencies

There’s fascinating research on how awe-filled experiences make us more likely to care about others. This study from 2020 aligns with that research, by connecting experiences of beauty with prosociality.

“Drawing from research on prosocial behavior, aesthetics, and conceptual metaphor, we posit and find that simply exposing consumers to beauty-related words activates the concept of prosociality (study 1), improves their prosocial tendency in general (study 2), and lowers their evaluations and purchase intentions of products with corporate social responsibility issues (but has no effect on products without such issues) (study 3).”

Does Mere Exposure to Beauty-Related Words Promote Prosocial Behavior? Exploring the Mental Association between Beauty and Prosociality. | The Prosocial Consumer

Mar 12, 2024 Blog

We Need to Understand—Not Just Eliminate—Suffering

I enjoyed this article by Katherine Boyle so very much. It reflects what I’ve been learning as I slowly work my way through the book Suffering and Virtue by philosopher Michael Brady. (I will eventually write a newsletter article about that book.)

“Though we may not realize it, nearly all of our modern cultural debates and ailments stem from the contemporary belief that suffering is not a natural or essential part of the human condition. The war on suffering has not only robbed us of resilience; it has sold us a mirage that is making us miserable.”

If suffering is only to be eliminated, then we miss out on what it also produces that’s good. Post-traumatic growth, for example, is impossible without suffering. The ways we respond to suffering need to be far more thoughtful and nuanced than just making sure it never happens, which is impossible anyway.

The War on Suffering | Katherine Boyle - The Rambler

Mar 11, 2024 Blog

Happiness and Meaning Are Different Things

It’s an easy mistake to think that a happy life is a meaningful life. But research by Baumeister and others shows that meaning comes from different things than happiness.

“Their findings suggest that meaning (separate from happiness) is not connected with whether one is healthy, has enough money, or feels comfortable in life, while happiness (separate from meaning) is. More specifically, the researchers identified five major differences between a happy life and a meaningful one.”

The five differences are fascinating, but I’ll just encourage you to follow the link to find out more.

Is a Happy Life Different from a Meaningful One? | Greater Good Science Center

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