
What We Owe the Future
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Narrated by:
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William MacAskill
About this listen
An Oxford philosopher makes the case for “longtermism”—that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority of our time
The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanity’s written history spans only five thousand years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more—or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering, or never live at all, depending on what we choose to do today.
In What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill argues for longtermism, that idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. From this perspective, it’s not enough to reverse climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed, counter the end of moral progress, and prepare for a planet where the smartest beings are digital, not human.
If we put humanity’s course to right, our grandchildren’s grandchildren will thrive, knowing we did everything we could to give them a world full of justice, hope, and beauty.
©2022 William MacAskill (P)2022 Recorded BooksPeople who viewed this also viewed...
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Interesting and mind broadening
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Amazing book
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Sometimes I think about my ancestors and all the struggles they overcame. Traveling by boat to America, starving in the famines. Great great grandmas having 12 kids (changing diapers for 25 YEARS). Great great great grandpas toiling in factories and courting ladies. Someone probably had a limb sawed off and kept living. Someone probably died giving birth.
I am thankful to these people. Even when life is hard these days, it’s still good to be alive. If you are thankful to those people you should at least contemplate what your descendants will think about you.
I found his accent slightly hard to understand, but the book is good.
Thinking in *future tense*
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Thank you so much William MacAskill for this book.
Thank you William MacAskill for this book.
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Though I am not sure why the author recorded the book in his own voice, it was one rhythm, a bit unclear sometimes. Could have hired a professional reader
Book is good, performance is not
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good
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Important and impactful…life changing - please read/listen
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you can have a large impact on humanity and the potentially massive amount of future generations, this book will help you with where to start.
Cons:
there were a few chapters that I found uninteresting, and not particularly necessary. I would've liked to see a little less doomerism and a little more practical application.
I found the narrators speaking cadence was annyoing, far to many pauses for my taste.
I also found one of his arguments concerning; he purposes that care of individual species should be based on neuron count. personally this reaks of eugenics.
A lovely grounding for anyone hoping to do good
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Looking thru the authors eyes
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A vital book
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