What We Owe the Future, William MacAskill
What We Owe the Future, William MacAskill
4 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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What We Owe the Future

Bestseller

Author: William MacAskill

Narrator: William MacAskill

Unabridged: 8 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/16/2022


Synopsis

An Oxford philosopher makes the case for “longtermism”—that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority of our time

The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanity’s written history spans only five thousand years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more—or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering, or never live at all, depending on what we choose to do today.

In What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill argues for longtermism, that idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. From this perspective, it’s not enough to reverse climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed; counter the end of moral progress; and prepare for a planet where the smartest beings are digital, not human.

If we put humanity’s course to right, our grandchildren’s grandchildren will thrive, knowing we did everything we could to give them a world full of justice, hope, and beauty.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rick on September 16, 2022

This book is like marzipan. Interesting to look at, but the actual substance tastes kind of like Styrofoam This is a fun book in concept. I agree that we should think in longer-term increments. I’ve noticed as I’ve matured, my thinking from childhood has developed from days, to weeks as a teenager, t......more

Goodreads review by Fin on December 18, 2022

Extremely ambitious, and extremely persuasive. Future people count, there could be a lot of them, and we can make their lives better. What We Owe the Future is a book about these three ideas, which come together in longtermism: the view that we as society should be doing far more to protect future ge......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on August 27, 2022

It was admittedly a little tough to mark this as 3 stars, though I am rounding it down from 3.5 stars which I would give had I the option. This evaluation is less comparable to other books to which I've granted three stars, and is more an instantiation of the perhaps unjustifiably high bar to which......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 26, 2022

I’ve read a draft of the introduction and first chapter and wow, MacAskill's writing here is incredibly beautiful and compelling. Can’t wait to read the rest of the book when it comes out in August.......more

Goodreads review by Tobias on August 30, 2022

Quite a good read, though I'm not sure why Toby Ord and Will Macaskill didn't combine forces to write a book together that is The Precipice and this one combined. Reading both feels a bit redundant in parts. Still, well written and researched, thought-provoking, and positive. Some points from it: * We......more