The Reducing Suffering Podcast

Arguments For and Against a Focus on S-Risks - Audio Article

Listen Later

This is a reading of a popular post from Tobias Baumann, on the CRS website. 

"Among the myriad ways to do good, should averting ⁠risks of astronomical suffering⁠ (s-risks) be our main priority? The case for a focus on s-risks rests on a combination of the following:

  1. Longtermism: We should focus on improving the long-term future, rather than trying to help those alive now or in the near future.
  2. Suffering focus: We should give priority to avoiding severe suffering or other large-scale harm, compared to other goals such as ensuring a flourishing future for humanity. (This can be justified on normative or empirical grounds.)
  3. Worst-case focus: The most effective way to reduce expected suffering in the long-term is to focus on preventing particularly bad outcomes.

    4. In the following, I will outline key arguments for and against each of these premises. Most of those are not novel, and I will mostly refer the reader to existing work. The contribution of this article is to compile an even-handed overview of the ideas that underpin a focus on s-risks, as well as possible reasons to reject such a focus in favor of other priorities."

    ⁠⁠Read the full post⁠⁠⁠ including footnotes, references and acknowledgements:

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    The Reducing Suffering PodcastBy Center for Reducing Suffering