Executive summary: The author argues that some historical forms of Buddhism display proto-longtermist features—such as extremely long time horizons, concern for future suffering, and deliberate preservation of knowledge—while also emphasizing important differences from modern longtermism, suggesting that concern for the far future may arise independently across cultures rather than being a uniquely modern idea.
Key points:
The author initially assumed longtermism depended on modern Western concepts like welfarism and scientific understandings of deep time but found parallels in Buddhist thought that challenge this view.
Buddhist cosmology’s use of kalpas and prophecies like Maitreya’s arrival show engagement with civilizational and cosmic timescales far beyond typical historical horizons.
Buddhist institutions undertook large-scale, durable knowledge preservation projects—such as stone-carved canons and the Tripiṭaka Koreana—explicitly aimed at benefiting far-future generations.
Buddhism’s focus on reducing suffering for all sentient beings, combined with beliefs in rebirth, creates moral concern for beings across vast future time spans.
The author notes key differences from modern longtermism, including the absence of existential risk, a focus on spiritual rather than material interventions, and emphasis on individual liberation over aggregate welfare.
The author concludes that these similarities suggest longtermist intuitions may be cross-cultural and historically recurring, and finds this motivating for confidence in present-day longtermist efforts.
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Executive summary: The author argues that some historical forms of Buddhism display proto-longtermist features—such as extremely long time horizons, concern for future suffering, and deliberate preservation of knowledge—while also emphasizing important differences from modern longtermism, suggesting that concern for the far future may arise independently across cultures rather than being a uniquely modern idea.
Key points:
The author initially assumed longtermism depended on modern Western concepts like welfarism and scientific understandings of deep time but found parallels in Buddhist thought that challenge this view.
Buddhist cosmology’s use of kalpas and prophecies like Maitreya’s arrival show engagement with civilizational and cosmic timescales far beyond typical historical horizons.
Buddhist institutions undertook large-scale, durable knowledge preservation projects—such as stone-carved canons and the Tripiṭaka Koreana—explicitly aimed at benefiting far-future generations.
Buddhism’s focus on reducing suffering for all sentient beings, combined with beliefs in rebirth, creates moral concern for beings across vast future time spans.
The author notes key differences from modern longtermism, including the absence of existential risk, a focus on spiritual rather than material interventions, and emphasis on individual liberation over aggregate welfare.
The author concludes that these similarities suggest longtermist intuitions may be cross-cultural and historically recurring, and finds this motivating for confidence in present-day longtermist efforts.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.