#876 Émile Torres - Human Extinction (Part 2): Existential Ethics
RECORDED ON NOVEMBER 22nd 2023.
Dr. Émile Torres is a post-doc researcher at Case Western Reserve University. Their work over the past decade has centered around a single theme: eschatology, whether religious, secular, or scientific. Recently, their work has been focused on the nature and causes of human extinction, its ethical implications, and the history of the idea. They are the author of Morality, Foresight, and Human Flourishing: An Introduction to Existential Risks, and their latest book is Human Extinction: A History of the Science and Ethics of Annihilation.
This is our third interview. You can watch the first one, on the philosophy of effective altruism and longtermism, here: https://youtu.be/ES-fPqMXXng. And the second, our first talk about Human Extinction, here: https://youtu.be/8ckRT2hhz7c
This is our second talk on Human Extinction. This time, we focus on existential ethics. We first discuss what it is, the different types of human extinction, and what would be lost with human extinction. We talk about anti-natalism, and the philosophy of transhumanism. We discuss Dr. Torres’ own views on human extinction. Finally, we talk about the possible positive and negative consequences of being exposed to eschatological narratives.
Time Links:
Intro
What is existential ethics?
Different types of extinction
What would be lost with human extinction? What does “human” mean?
Anti-natalism
The philosophy of transhumanism
Dr. Torres’ own views on human extinction
What can be the consequences of being exposed to eschatological narratives?
Follow Dr. Torres’ work!
Follow Dr. Torres’ work:
University page: https://bit.ly/3BUcz8j
Website: https://bit.ly/3qbrU1S
Human Extinction: https://bit.ly/3OGrXgi
Twitter handle: @xriskology