Hybrid Workshop on Human Extinction

In policy and public debate, it is typically assumed that human extinction would be a catastrophic outcome and that we have very strong reasons to prevent it if we can. But there is little reflection on what justifies this assumption. What exactly are the reasons to prevent human extinction – what would be bad about it? How weighty are these reasons – what costs should we be willing to bear to guard against the risk of extinction? This event, the second in a series at the University of Southampton, will bring philosophers working on foundational ethical issues about extinction together with scholars from across the humanities and the social and natural sciences in order to enhance our understanding of the risks to human survival and their significance. The event will feature three invited talks and an interdisciplinary panel discussion.

Speakers:

SJ Beard (Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Cambridge)

Rafael Mestre (Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton)

Kritika Maheshwari (Philosophy, Delft)

Panelists:

Leslie Carr (Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton)

Mario Brito (Business, Southampton)

Mike Bintley (English, Southampton)

Attendance is free and open to all but numbers for in-person attendance are limited. To register please email [email protected] with the subject heading ‘Extinction workshop: in-person registration’ or ‘Extinction workshop: online registration’.

The workshop is generously supported by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Southampton, and by the Southampton Ethics Centre.