Human extinction : a history of the science and ethics of annihilation
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Human extinction : a history of the science and ethics of annihilation
(Studies in the history of science, technology and medicine / edited by John Krige, 49)
Routledge, 2024
- : hbk
Available at 1 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [469]-526) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This volume traces the origins and evolution of the idea of human extinction, from the ancient Presocratics through contemporary work on "existential risks."
Many leading intellectuals agree that the risk of human extinction this century may be higher than at any point in our 300,000-year history as a species. This book provides insight on the key questions that inform this discussion, including when humans began to worry about their own extinction and how the debate has changed over time. It establishes a new theoretical foundation for thinking about the ethics of our extinction, arguing that extinction would be very bad under most circumstances, although the outcome might be, on balance, good. Throughout the book, graphs, tables, and images further illustrate how human choices and attitudes about extinction have evolved in Western history. In its thorough examination of humanity's past, this book also provides a starting point for understanding our future.
Although accessible enough to be read by undergraduates, Human Extinction contains new and thought-provoking research that will benefit even established academic philosophers and historians.
Table of Contents
1. An Apocalypse Without Kingdom Part 1: Existential Moods 2. Beginnings of "The End" 3. 'Till Entropy Death Do Us Part 4. The Invention of Omnicide 5. Nature Wants to Kill Us 6. The Perfection of Evil Part 2: Existential Ethics 7. What Is Human Extinction? 8. Early Ruminations 9. Ethical Innovations of the Postwar Era 10. Astronomical Value and the Harm of Existence 11. Recent Developments 12. Looking Forward to the Future
by "Nielsen BookData"