We create a lot of our own constraints. And then we imagine as though those constraints were externally imposed, right? So that's the one thing is we have this freedom when we don't know how to use it. We're in a context where the social norms haven't yet been established. I was shocked when I first joined Twitter because people aren't actually really mean. That's not how most people are. People mostly are pretty nice to each other and know how to interact. Then you throw them on Twitter and it's like, they don't knows how to interact at all. It's like, we're suddenly in like a wild west, right?
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.