Strong Longtermism as a Public Philosophy

作为公共哲学的强烈长期主义

• 批准号: 2712316
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2712316
• 关键词: Strong; Longtermism; Public; Philosophy

Even according to our most conservative estimates, the number of people alive now pales in comparison to the astronomical number of people contained in the long-term future. Yet, it seems that we live in a hegemony of short-termism. Whether in politics, philanthropy or our own life choices, our attention rarely reaches beyond the next few years, even as our carbon-intensive way of life risks leaving future generations with a radically impoverished planet. This should make us ask: what would a more morally defensible orientation towards the future look like? My research aims to answer this question by arguing for a view I call strong longtermism as a public philosophy. The core idea of this view is that even if morality allows us significant freedom to act as we please as private citizens, governments are morally obliged to act in ways that maximise the expected value of the long-term future. A public philosophy, then, is a philosophy aimed at guiding public bodies we use to solve collective problems, as opposed to moral codes regulating private interactions and individual behaviour. My proposed project has two primary aims. Firstly, I pose objections to many of the currently prominent theories of intergenerational ethics, arguing that we lack a view that can take seriously the vast potential value of the long-run future, while avoiding implausible implications elsewhere. Secondly, I propose and explore the implications of a novel account that is still firmly grounded in existing scholarship, namely strong longtermism as a public philosophy.I intend my project to contribute to the growing literature on our obligations towards future people, as well as broader debates between consequentialist and non-consequentialist moral theories. Furthermore, I believe the project could improve our understanding of effective altruism, provide practically relevant insights for applied ethics, and perhaps even help motivate a return of consequentialism in political philosophy.

即使根据我们最保守的估计，现在活着的人数与长期未来所包含的天文数字相比也相形见绌。然而，我们似乎生活在一个短期主义的霸权之中。无论是在政治、慈善事业还是我们自己的生活选择中，我们的注意力很少超过未来几年，即使我们的碳密集型生活方式有可能给后代留下一个极度贫困的星球。这应该让我们问：一个在道德上更站得住脚的未来方向是什么样的？我的研究旨在通过论证一种我称之为强长期主义的公共哲学来回答这个问题。这一观点的核心思想是，即使道德允许我们作为普通公民随心所欲地行事，政府在道德上也有义务以最大化长期未来预期价值的方式行事。因此，公共哲学是一种旨在指导我们用来解决集体问题的公共机构的哲学，而不是规范私人互动和个人行为的道德准则。我提出的项目有两个主要目标。首先，我对目前许多著名的代际伦理理论提出异议，认为我们缺乏一种观点，可以认真对待长期未来的巨大潜在价值，同时避免在其他地方产生令人难以置信的影响。第二，我提出并探索了一个新的帐户，仍然是坚定地立足于现有的奖学金，即强烈的长期主义作为一种公共哲学的影响。我打算我的项目，以促进我们对未来的人的义务，以及更广泛的辩论之间的结果主义和非结果主义的道德理论越来越多的文学。此外，我相信这个项目可以提高我们对有效利他主义的理解，为应用伦理学提供实际相关的见解，甚至可能有助于激励结果主义在政治哲学中的回归。