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What We Owe the Future

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What We Owe the Future

By: William MacAskill
Narrated by: William MacAskill
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About this listen

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.

©2022 William MacAskill (P)2022 Recorded Books Ethics & Morality Future Studies Philosophy Social Sciences Morality
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Incredible introduction and a great finish. This book is really going to make you change your life.

Best book I've read this year

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Optimistic, realistic and exciting option's for the possibility of avoiding a locked-in appalling future.

Important

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I wanted to be inspired and was disappointed in that regard. Good in parts though.

More moral philosophy than world saving

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The narration was good and I like the perspective that it gave. It was nice

Great!

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Really enjoyed the way in which the author conceptualizes humanity’s existence as a single lifetime in which we are only in our infancy, and how our choices effect our future.

Also appreciated the structured approach he takes to weighing up the impact of actions and outcomes, and the sort of Bayesian approach he recommends in the face of moral uncertainty.

The section on population ethics definitely lost me, and although the author does warn listeners / readers up front that it will be esoteric. There are so many abstractions to the philosophical questions that I certainly found the ideas debated pretty remote from real world application. The notion of a critical value for happiness did seem like a reasonable approach in the end.

While a lot of the recommendations flowing from MacAskill’s analysis are pretty generic - be politically active, raise kids well, pursue a meaningful career. Some of his other insights flowing from his analysis I.e. relative risks and impacts of areas like General Artificial Intelligence, are not what I would consider mainstream.

Overall well worth absorbing the ideas and I would agree with the philosophy behind it!

Interesting exploration of idea of legacy

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A great read. The book was full of ideas that seemed so obvious and important I was surprised I had never heard them before. The book left me with a clearer sense of what I want my life to be committed to

A great insight into what matters

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MacAskill guides us through our reasons for caring about the future, and how we can do our best to steer humanity towards better paths.

It's packed with new research, but it's delivered in an extremely easy to listen to way. I loved it!

You can't trust most books — but you can trust this one. It's rare for an author to care so much about getting things right, and it's clear this book is careful and fact checked.

I especially enjoyed the sections on wellbeing, trying to understand how much suffering and happiness are contained in different human lives, and how to compare this, and whether the entire history of the world has been good or bad overall.

A surprisingly grounded book about the far future

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I’d recommend this to anyone with an interest in moral philosophy and practical ethics. Succinct and powerful.

Loved the book!

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I’ve admired MacAskill’s work for some time and resonated with Ord’s The Precipice so much that I changed my career direction to make a greater long-term impact. What We Owe The Future reaffirms that decision, adding texture and colour to Ord’s warnings with compelling philosophical assertions and an optimistic outlook. A firm recommendation.

A critical read for anyone with a conscience

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Sorry, just not great content. Was preachy and unbalanced. I have a open mind but sadly wasn't captivated by the author's viewpoint. In one sentence... "Don't ruin the planet for future generations, it's unethical."

Overly political

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