#876 Émile Torres - Human Extinction (Part 2): Existential Ethics

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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 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:
00:00 Intro
00:37 What is existential ethics?
09:04 Different types of extinction
25:01 What would be lost with human extinction? What does “human” mean?
33:07 Anti-natalism
44:50 The philosophy of transhumanism
58:51 Dr. Torres’ own views on human extinction
1:11:30 What can be the consequences of being exposed to eschatological narratives?
1:19:13 Follow Dr. Torres’ work!
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Follow Dr. Torres’ work:
Twitter handle: @xriskology
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[naturalisted]

For what the Asymmetry Argument is arguing for, there'd have to be a positive absence of experience/pain/etc. What could be called "an experience of no experience", as Tom Clark put it in his essay, Death, Nothingness and Subjectivity. It is clear to me that Benatar believes in some sort of peaceful black void before birth, but he isn't aware of this assumption and so will deny harboring such a belief.