Is the Future Worth It?

     When politicians sit down in Congress to debate over a new law, the question of how it will affect future generations is always brought up. It is the center for many movements and reforms, and in our daily lives we often think of the future. In attempt to protect future generations, we may feel obligated to conserve resources, control population growth, and reform social justice issues. 

    However, it is inevitable that at some point the world will cease to exist. The human species will die out. But when will that be? Tomorrow? In 20 years? 2000 years? It is impossible to know, but one day it will happen. It is natural to have the "survival" instinct, and to reproduce, continuing the the human race. Although when looking through a philosophical lens one asks the question "Would it be bad if there were no future peoples?" 

    After reading "Energy Policy and the Further Future" by Derek Parfit, the Risky Policy would increase the "standard of living would be somewhat higher over the next two centuries" (112), but then a catastrophe would kill off thousands of people. Although "in assigning blame, we must consider not actual but predictable effects" (Parfit, 116). It makes a very difficult comprehension of who should be responsible for the damage caused to the earth. We do not have a definitive answer for what the effects our actions have, we only can guess and predict the outcome. But these predictions are so drastic that the ignorance of the human species will be our demise. I firmly believe after reading this article that the human race will end itself. Whether that is intentional or not, by focusing on the present and not the future, we are setting ourselves up for failure. I also understand the other side of this argument as well, why should we be to blame for future events when we did not know they would occur? 

    Overall, I do not think it will be bad if there were no future peoples. Throughout the Earth's lifespan we have been here for merely a split second, yet we have caused arguably irreversible damage. Humans almost always only care for themselves, and that has been shown through climate change, ongoing war, and the elimination of other species. If there were no more people, then the earth would repair itself, pollution levels would improve, and other species would live in harmony. Through technology and the human mind, we have become such an overly destructive society, and at this rate will kill our civilization as we know it. If people start to change their habits and protect this world and look at all of the other elements around us, we could possibly improve the present, along with protecting our future generations, regardless if we know the future or not. 

Parfit, Derek. "Energy Policy and the Further Future: The Identity Problem." PDF file.