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16. Simon Beard on Parfit, Climate Change, and Existential Risk

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Dr Simon Beard is a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, and an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker. With a background in philosophy, he works on ethical problems relating to the long-term future of humanity, as well as evaluating extreme technological risks.

In this episode we discuss:

  • [2:00] Existential risks defined in brief;
  • [4:45] Simon's background;
  • [12:30] What made philosopher Derek Parfit so influential;
  • [17:30] What is the repugnant conclusion?
  • [22:12] What is the non-identity problem?
  • [28:40] Meeting Parfit;
  • [34:20] Why Simon chose a career in existial risk research;
  • [36:43] What existential risk research looks like;
  • [45:58] How can we estimate the probability of catastrophes with no strict precedents?
  • [56:52] Under what circumstances could climate change cause a collapse of global civilization?
  • [1:07:52] Why Simon ran as an MP for the Liberal Democrats;
  • [1:17:25] Is academia broken? How can we fix it?
  • [1:23:23] Why Simon changed his mind about whether COVID is a potential global catastrophe

    • You can read much more on this episode's accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/Simon.

    If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, please get in touch through our website. Please also consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening to this.

    If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip at https://www.tips.pinecast.com/jar/hear-this-idea. Thanks for listening!

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