The Idea of Human Dignity Is Getting Worked Out

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I think that we have made really significant forms of progress. And I think we will continue to make them. It's a little bit shocking to imagine ourselves in relation to future humans in the kind of benighted condition that we imagine, you know, the humans before literacy or even before language in relation to us. That's kind of shocking. But in a way, it's optimistic that is we have, we still, I think we still have a lot of room for improvement.

Suppose all of humanity was infected by a virus that left us all infertile--no one will come along after us. How would you react to such a world? Agnes Callard of the University of Chicago says she would be filled with despair. But why does this seem worse than our own inevitable deaths? Callard speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the meaning of life, and what exactly about the end of humanity is so demoralizing. The conversation concludes with a discussion of whether humanity is making progress.