Module 5 / Lesson 14.2
Our Potential
This final lesson concludes the course by exploring Chapter 8 (“Our Potential”) of Toby Ord’s The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity (pp. 217–242). It asks a profound question: What are we ultimately trying to protect?
Purpose: Having studied the dangers that threaten humanity, this chapter turns to the extraordinary potential humanity holds if we navigate the Precipice successfully. Ord paints a vision of a vast, meaningful, and flourishing future, stretching across immense timescales and distances. This lesson concludes the book’s argument: existential risk reduction is not only about survival, but about preserving the opportunity for our greatest flourishing.
14.2.1: Duration - The Immense Timescale of the Future
- Learning: Read Ord, pp. 217–226.
- Reflection: Consider Ord’s claim that humanity could endure for a million years or longer. What natural limits or technological solutions does he discuss that could extend human civilization’s lifespan?
14.2.2: Scale - Reaching Across the Cosmos
- Learning: Read Ord, pp. 226–234.
- Reflection: Examine Ord’s vision of interstellar expansion and energy use. What technological and ethical considerations accompany this cosmic perspective?
14.2.3: Quality and the Long Reflection
- Learning: Read Ord, pp. 234–242.
- Reflection: As you read, note how Ord transitions from quantitative to qualitative arguments, from scale and duration to ethics, value, and meaning. What does he mean by the “Long Reflection”?
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