Mapping the moral architecture of effective and extraordinary altruism.

ABSTRACT: While global challenges demand both equitable and effective altruism, people often prioritize those nearby and overlook the impact of their prosocial actions. Here, we examined what moral values support altruism that is both equitable (helping others impartially regardless of proximity or group membership) and effective (helping impactfully by maximizing welfare gains). We studied two rare populations: effective altruists (EAs; N = 119), defined by their philosophical commitment to impartiality and maximizing impact, and extraordinary altruists (XAs; N = 65), defined by their real-world decision to donate an organ to a stranger-an act of radical impartiality, though not explicitly impact-maximizing. A demographically similar general population sample (N = 176) served a

SUBMITTER: Law KF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12560819 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature