In an earlier note I referred to a book by philosopher Todd May with the title "Should We Go Extinct: a philosophical dilemma for our unbearable times". I'm reading it now, anticipating an answer but pretty sure there may be many reasonable answers. I mean, it depends.
What we should do implies deciding what's good. That depends on who your friends are, because the duties to friends in different groups are not all the same. In our human centred culture, human life is valued above all else, the rest of the biosphere being something to control and exploit.
But what's good for humanity here and now may result in a cascade of remote bad consequences coming at us. What's good for us humans isn't necessarily good for the biosphere. And what's bad for the biosphere may ultimately be bad for us humans. What's good may be bad? It's complicated.
I would like to have a simple answer for what's good and pass that along, because it would be good for my self esteem if you were to read my blog and think well of me sitting here at my computer in climate-controlled comfort while the planet burns. If I were the CEO of an oil corporation, the return on investment would be the ultimate good because, if I get it right, I would get a performance bonus, so extinction would be fine if it happens after I'm gone. If I were a whale in a warming ocean with no krill left to eat, human extinction would be quite nice; bring it on. If we nature lovers shut down the oilfields in deference to the whales, there would soon be a new government voted in by SUV owners demanding cheaper fuel. If I were a disembodied immortal intelligence looking in from outside, humanity would be just another evolutionary experiment that will extinguish itself by turning its prolific success into prodigious failure. Who cares?
I don't know if we should go extinct. Maybe it would be good if we were wise enough to survive being clever for awhile longer so we could figure it out. What do you think?
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Climate Extremes: At the Abyss?: documentary
Trump Presidency Could Alter Global Climate Policy: Inayat Singh, CBC News, Nov 16, 2024
Trump's Energy Secretary: What's right for Wright and wrong for the planet.
Optimistic Climate News: Just Have a Think, Nov 6, 2024
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