[Apologies if the following is a bit off-topic since the post appears more concerned with “political” theory than “axiology”, but:]
I think that a thorough and generous engagement with common sense “non-utilitarian” perspectives on population ethics such as the “intuition of neutrality [about making more people]” may benefit from some engagement with the metaphysics and logic of future contingents. Below are a few references that may be of relevance. I don’t think studying these will lead to any quick answers, but I think in the long run it may benefit the field.
[Apologies if the following is a bit off-topic since the post appears more concerned with “political” theory than “axiology”, but:]
I think that a thorough and generous engagement with common sense “non-utilitarian” perspectives on population ethics such as the “intuition of neutrality [about making more people]” may benefit from some engagement with the metaphysics and logic of future contingents. Below are a few references that may be of relevance. I don’t think studying these will lead to any quick answers, but I think in the long run it may benefit the field.
- Future Contingents SEP
- Nuel Belnap Branching Space-Times: Theory and Applications
- Nuel Belnap Facing the Future: Agents and Choices in Our Indeterminist World
- Andrea Borghini & Giuliano Torrengo “The Metaphysics of the Thin Red Line”
- Ted Sider, “Presentism and Ontological Commitment”