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THEÂ SUNDAY TIMESÂ BESTSELLER 'Unapologetically
optimistic and bracingly realistic, this is the most inspiring book
on âethical livingâ Iâve ever read.' Oliver
Burkeman, Guardian âA monumental event.' Rutger Bregman,
author of Humankind âA book of great daring, clarity,
insight and imagination. To be simultaneously so realistic and so
optimistic, and always so damn readable⌠well that is a miracle
for which he should be greatly applauded.â Stephen Fry In
What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill persuasively
argues for longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the
distant future is a moral priority of our time. It isnât enough
to mitigate climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must
ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed; cultivate
value pluralism; and prepare for a planet where the most
sophisticated beings are digital and not human. The challenges we
face are enormous. But so is the influence we have.Â
Humanity is in its infancy. Our future could last for millions of years – 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.
As we approach a critical juncture in our history, we can make profound moral decisions about how humanity’s course plays out. We can create positive change on behalf of future generations, to prevent the use of catastrophic weapons and maintain peace between the world’s great powers. We can improve our moral values, navigating the rise of AI and climate change more fairly for generations to come.
The challenges we face are enormous. But so is the influence we have. If we choose wisely, our distant descendants will look back on us fondly, knowing we did everything we could to give them a world that is beautiful and just.
A radical reassessment of how we can most effectively help others
by a rising star of philosophy and leading social entrepreneur. 'A
surprising and often counterintuitive look at the best ways to make
a difference . . . MacAskill is that rarest of beasts: a do-gooder
who uses his head more than his heart.' SUNDAY TIMES Most of us
want to make a difference. We donate to charity, buy Fairtrade
coffee, or try to cut down on our carbon emissions. Rarely do we
know if we're really helping, and despite our best intentions, our
actions can have ineffective - and sometimes downright harmful -
outcomes. Confronting this problem, William MacAskill developed the
concept of effective altruism, a practical, data-driven approach
which shows that each of us has the power to do an astonishing
amount of good, given the right information. His conclusions are
often surprising; by examining the charities we give to, the goods
we buy and the careers we pursue, Doing Good Better is a
fascinating and original guide which shows how, through simple
actions, you can improve thousands of lives - including your own.
'A data nerd after my own heart.' BILL GATES 'Required reading for
anyone interested in making the world better.' STEVEN LEVITT,
co-author of Freakonomics 'Effective altruism - efforts that
actually help people rather than making you feel good or helping
you show off - is one of the great new ideas of the 21st century.
Doing Good Better is the definitive guide to this exciting new
movement.' STEVEN PINKER, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Unapologetically optimistic and
bracingly realistic, this is the most inspiring book on 'ethical
living' I've ever read.' Oliver Burkeman, Guardian 'A monumental
event.' Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind 'A book of great
daring, clarity, insight and imagination. To be simultaneously so
realistic and so optimistic, and always so damn readable... well
that is a miracle for which he should be greatly applauded.'
Stephen Fry Humanity is in its infancy. Our future could last for
millions of years - 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. As we approach a critical juncture in our history, we can
make profound moral decisions about how humanity's course plays
out. We can create positive change on behalf of future generations,
to prevent the use of catastrophic weapons and maintain peace
between the world's great powers. We can improve our moral values,
navigating the rise of AI and climate change more fairly for
generations to come. The challenges we face are enormous. But so is
the influence we have. If we choose wisely, our distant descendants
will look back on us fondly, knowing we did everything we could to
give them a world that is beautiful and just.
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What We Owe the Future
William MacAskill
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R529
R418
Discovery Miles 4 180
Save R111 (21%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC
BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford
Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and
selected open access locations. Very often we're uncertain about
what we ought, morally, to do. We don't know how to weigh the
interests of animals against humans, how strong our duties are to
improve the lives of distant strangers, or how to think about the
ethics of bringing new people into existence. But we still need to
act. So how should we make decisions in the face of such
uncertainty? Though economists and philosophers have extensively
studied the issue of decision-making in the face of uncertainty
about matters of fact, the question of decision-making given
fundamental moral uncertainty has been neglected. Philosophers
William MacAskill, Krister Bykvist, and Toby Ord try to fill this
gap. Moral Uncertainty argues that there are distinctive norms that
govern how one ought to make decisions. It defends an
information-sensitive account of how to make such decisions by
developing an analogy between moral uncertainty and social choice,
arguing that the correct way to act in the face of moral
uncertainty depends on whether the moral theories in which one has
credence are merely ordinal, cardinal, or both cardinal and
intertheoretically comparable. It tackles the problem of how to
make intertheoretical comparisons, discussing potential solutions
and the implications of their view for metaethics and practical
ethics.
Almost all of us want to make a difference. So we volunteer, donate
to charity, recycle or try to cut down our carbon emissions. But
rarely do we know how much of a difference we're really making. In
a remarkable re-examination of the evidence, Doing Good Better
reveals why buying sweatshop-produced goods benefits the poor; why
cosmetic surgeons can do more good than charity workers; and why
giving to a relief fund is generally not the best way to help after
a natural disaster. By examining the charities you give to, the
volunteering you do, the goods you buy and the career you pursue,
this fascinating and often surprising guide shows how through
simple actions you can improve thousands of lives - including your
own.
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