Todd May "Should We Go Extinct?: A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times" (Crown, 2024)

Jun 29, 2025

Todd May, a philosophy instructor and advisor on 'The Good Place,' dives into the provocative question of human extinction in his new book. He examines the ethical implications of our existence, weighing the unique contributions of humanity against the environmental suffering we cause. May challenges listeners to rethink procreation, explores population control, and emphasizes our responsibilities towards the planet. His engaging perspective raises essential questions about the value of life, art, and happiness in the face of ecological crisis.

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ANECDOTE

Advisor Role on The Good Place

Todd May became a philosophical advisor on The Good Place after a writer noticed his book on death.
He read scripts, consulted on philosophy topics, and even made a cameo on the show.

INSIGHT

Imagining Human Extinction

The extinction scenario imagined is gradual die-out by ceasing to reproduce, not sudden catastrophe.
This frames the core question as whether it would be better if humans simply ceased to exist over time.

INSIGHT

Unique Human Contributions

Humans uniquely create and appreciate art, music, and meaningful lives, adding irreplaceable value to the planet.
This gives humanity intrinsic and instrumental worth beyond other species.

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These days it’s harder than ever to watch TV, scroll social media, or even just sit at home looking out of the window without contemplating the question at the heart of philosopher Todd May’s Should We Go Extinct?: A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times (Crown, 2024). Facing climate destruction and the revived specter of nuclear annihilation even as humans continue to cause untold suffering to our fellow creatures on planet Earth, we are forced each day to contemplate whether the world would be better off in our absence.

In this timely, fascinating examination, May, a renowned philosopher and advisor to the acclaimed TV show The Good Place, reasons both for and against the continuation of our species, trying to help us understand how and whether, the positive and negative tallies of the human ledger are comparable, and what conclusions we might draw about ourselves and our future from doing so. He discusses the value that only humans can bring to the world and to one another as well as the goods, like art and music, that would be lost were we no longer here. On the other side of the ledger, he walks us through the suffering we cause to nature and the non-human world, seeking to understand whether it’s possible to justify such suffering against our merits and if not, what changes we could make to reduce the harm we cause.

In this moment of rising pessimism about the future, and as many people wonder whether they should bring children into such a dark and difficult world, the questions May tackles in Should We Go Extinct? are hardly theoretical. As he explores the complexities involved with changes such as an end to factory farming, curbing scientific testing of animals, reducing the human population, and seeking to develop empathy with our fellow creatures, May sketches a powerful framework for establishing our responsibilities as a species and gives hope that we might one day find universal agreement that the answer to his title question should be No.

Todd May is Instructor of Philosophy, and Nielsen Professor of the Humanities, at Warren Wilson College. He’s taught and written on philosophy for over thirty years, mostly in the areas of ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of life.

Kyle Johannsen is Sessional Faculty Member in the Department of Philosophy at Trent University. His most recent authored book is Wild Animal Ethics: The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering (Routledge, 2021).

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