In Rhys Southan’s essay, he talks about his time spent on a retreat with Effective Altruists. As an artist, his ideas come into conflict with the EA group’s ideals. He learns that Effective Altruists spend their lives making as much money as possible in order to send the maximum possible amount of aid to people who are suffering worldwide. They follow a utilitarian philosophy, In which decision are made in order to minimize suffering as much as possible. Because of this logical approach to morality, EAs agree that it is selfish to put your own desired passion and artistic drive above making lots of money to aid those who are suffering. EAs see art as an unnecessary, unimportant waste of time that need not be pursued. Rhys Southan gives their complete point of view in his essay, but does ultimately reject their notions.

In Titus Kaphar’s TED talk, “can art amend history”, Kaphar discusses a trip to the Natural History Museum in New York. Upon seeing a statue of Theodore Roosevelt riding horseback, flanked by a Native American and a Black person, his son asks “Why do they have to walk and he gets to ride?” Kaphar discusses how art is a reflection of history, and that oftentimes the less fortunate of that time are overlooked or overshadowed. He uses a painting of a colonial family to demonstrate this point. The family has fancy belongings, including a necklace belonging to the mother. He points out that we can find out more about that pendant- the year, manufacturer, make, etc… than we can find out about the Family’s slave’s dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Kaphar wants these works of art to remain, because they show where we have been in history as a society, but he wants to amend them by also displaying landmarks an artwork that shows where we are now, and how far we’ve come.

Kaphar and Southan both place large emphasis on the importance of art, however, Southan sees art as important to the individual, whereas Kaphar sees it as important to society. Southan examines how art can be justified in a world where time could be spent raising funds for the hungry rather than creating art. Southan gives the EA perspective that art is a self- centered topic, but doesn’t really defend his own perspective. Kaphar, however, sees art as important to us as a society, so that we can see people’s intentions, hopes, ideals, etc… through history. Art can be used to give a voice to the voiceless in Kaphar’s eyes, and that is why it is valuable.