It’s would also be worth pointing out that most people in this community who hold views that can be categorized as negative utilitarian or suffering-focused don’t endorse bringing about human extinction, e.g.:
I am not claiming that these posts/articles have settled the debate, but I think any post on a sensitive topic like this would benefit from including such content.
In relation to purely suffering-focused views, I also argue here that people may sometimes jump to hasty conclusions about human extinction due to certain forms of misconceived (i.e. non-impartial) consequentialism, and argue (drawing on the linked resources) that an impartial approach would imply strong heuristics of cooperation and nonviolence.
This question has been considered to some extent by people in the community already. Consider the following posts:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/NfkEqssr7qDazTquW/the-expected-value-of-extinction-risk-reduction-is-positive
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/RkPK8rWigSAybgGPe/a-longtermist-critique-of-the-expected-value-of-extinction-2
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/cYf6Xx8w7bt9ivbon/which-world-gets-saved
It’s would also be worth pointing out that most people in this community who hold views that can be categorized as negative utilitarian or suffering-focused don’t endorse bringing about human extinction, e.g.:
https://magnusvinding.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/suffering-focused-ethics.pdf (chapter 8)
https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/nufaq.html#3.2
I am not claiming that these posts/articles have settled the debate, but I think any post on a sensitive topic like this would benefit from including such content.
Thanks for these resources!
In relation to purely suffering-focused views, I also argue here that people may sometimes jump to hasty conclusions about human extinction due to certain forms of misconceived (i.e. non-impartial) consequentialism, and argue (drawing on the linked resources) that an impartial approach would imply strong heuristics of cooperation and nonviolence.
Interesting, thank you for sharing. A lot of this debate centers around our interpretations of consequentialism.