William MacAskill, a Scottish philosopher and author of "What We Owe the Future," joins James W. Lenman, a Professor of Philosophy and ethical theory critic, to delves deep into effective altruism and longtermism. They discuss whether we should sacrifice present well-being for a better future and examine the ethical implications of prioritizing future generations over current crises. The conversation challenges traditional views on job satisfaction, emphasizing social impact and the complexities of moral responsibility towards both people and nature.
33:04
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Effective Altruism Job Advice
Focus on job features like independence, completion, variety, feedback, and contribution.
These factors predict job satisfaction better than high income or low stress.
insights INSIGHT
Money & Happiness
Money does buy happiness, but its impact diminishes as income increases.
Doubling a £30,000 salary only yields a 3% life satisfaction boost.
insights INSIGHT
Good Stress vs. Bad Stress
Some stress is good; it becomes fulfilling when work demands match abilities.
Avoiding stress entirely can lead to boredom and lack of motivation.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this book, William MacAskill advocates for longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority. He argues that future people count, there could be many of them, and we can make their lives better. MacAskill discusses various threats to humanity, including climate change, AI misalignment, and pandemics, and proposes strategies to ensure civilization's survival and improve its trajectory. The book explores moral and philosophical issues surrounding longtermism, including the risks of human extinction, civilizational collapse, and technological stagnation, while offering a measured optimism about the future's potential for human flourishing[1][5][4].
Should we sacrifice the present for a better future?
Join the team at the IAI for three articles about effective altruism, longtermism, and the complex evolution of moral thought. Written by William MacAskill, James W. Lenman, and Ben Chugg, these three articles pick apart the ethical movement started by Peter Singer, analysing its strengths and weaknesses for both individuals and societies.
William MacAskill is a Scottish philosopher and author, best known for writing 2022's "What We Owe the Future." James W. Lenman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, as well as the former president of the British Society for Ethical Theory. Ben Chugg is a BPhD student in the machine learning department at Carnegie Mellon University. He also co-hosts the Increments podcast.
Philosophy For Our Times 