We are living in a time of growing existential risk, posing multiple threats to the survival of our species. We are also facing an epidemic of existential anxiety, with people struggling to find meaning and purpose in a complex and dehumanizing world. In such times, hope can be hard to find.
Yet, we are not alone with these problems. They have been troubling people for centuries now and, with 8 billion fellow human beings to work with, we can and will achieve amazing things.
In this wide-ranging exploration of humanity’s existential predicament, the philosopher and pioneer of Existential Risk Studies, SJ Beard, takes stock of what humanity has learned about ourselves and how we can move forward in our quest for meaning, safety and human flourishing.
Ultimately, they argue, our future depends upon us looking beyond existential threats to focus on our shared hopes, and then facing up to the fact that we all have important choices to make about what kind of humanity we really want.
Yet, we are not alone with these problems. They have been troubling people for centuries now and, with 8 billion fellow human beings to work with, we can and will achieve amazing things.
In this wide-ranging exploration of humanity’s existential predicament, the philosopher and pioneer of Existential Risk Studies, SJ Beard, takes stock of what humanity has learned about ourselves and how we can move forward in our quest for meaning, safety and human flourishing.
Ultimately, they argue, our future depends upon us looking beyond existential threats to focus on our shared hopes, and then facing up to the fact that we all have important choices to make about what kind of humanity we really want.
Table of Contents
Introduction - Beyond Risk and AnxietyPART 1 - The Ends of the World
Chapter 1 - Scanning the Trees
Chapter 2 - Who Would Destroy the World?
PART 2 - How Did We Get Here?
Chapter 3 - Thinking Machines
Chapter 4 - Unmasking the Powers
Chapter 5 - Utopia is a Dangerous Place
Chapter 6 - A Point of Inflection
PART 3 - Working Together
Chapter 7 - Steering the Centuries
Chapter 8 - Not With A Bang
Chapter 9 - How (Not) to Save the World
PART 4 - Preserving Humanity
Chapter 10 - You Are Here
Chapter 11 - Standing at the Shoreline
Chapter 12 - Young, Curious, and Brave
