What are the most important moral problems of our time? | Will MacAskill

TL;DR

This content discusses the economic history of human civilization and presents a framework for identifying the highest global priorities, focusing on global health, factory farming, and existential risks.

Transcript

This is a graph that represents the economic history of human civilization. [World GDP per capita over the last 200,000 years] There's not much going on, is there. For the vast majority of human history, pretty much everyone lived on the equivalent of one dollar per day, and not much changed. But then, something extraordinary happened: the Scientif... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌍 The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions transformed the world and our ability to change it, but our ethical understanding has not caught up yet.
• 🔑 Effective altruism is a philosophy and research program that aims to do the most good by addressing pressing global issues.
• 💉 Global health, factory farming, and existential risks are three moral issues that score well in terms of priority and impact.
• 🙌 Global health has shown progress and can save lives with relatively low investment, such as distributing insecticide-treated bed nets.
• 🐄 Factory farming is a hugely neglected area, where improving the lives of billions of animals could have a transformative impact.
• 💥 Existential risks, like nuclear war or a global pandemic, pose threats to humanity's survival and should be a top priority.
• 💭 The future holds vast potential for human flourishing, and preserving it is crucial, as future generations are voiceless and often neglected.
• 💪 Individuals can contribute to solving these problems through their money, career, and political engagement, supporting organizations and initiatives tackling these issues.

Questions & Answers

Q: What does the graph presented in the video show about the economic history of human civilization?

The graph shows that for the majority of human history, people lived on the equivalent of one dollar per day and there was not much change. However, the graph then transforms after the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions.

Q: What is the main argument presented in the video?

The main argument is that the world is currently in an unprecedented time in history in terms of power to change the world, but our ethical understanding hasn't caught up. There is a need for an ethical revolution to determine how to use resources to improve the world.

Q: According to the speaker, what is the philosophy and research program called?

The philosophy and research program is called effective altruism. It aims to answer the question of how to do the most good in the world by using evidence and careful reasoning.

Q: What are the three moral issues that the effective altruism community believes are important?

The three moral issues are global health, factory farming, and existential risks such as nuclear war or a global pandemic. These issues score well in the framework of being big, solvable, and neglected.

Q: How has global health improved over time?

Global health has improved significantly over time. Rates of death from diseases like measles, malaria, and diarrheal disease have decreased by over 70 percent. Diseases like smallpox have even been eradicated, saving millions of lives.

Q: What is the reasoning behind focusing on factory farming as a priority?

Factory farming is seen as a priority because it involves the suffering of billions of animals in horrific conditions. Improving their lives would require relatively low costs but has been largely neglected in terms of funding and resources.

Q: Why does the speaker believe that existential risks are a high priority?

The speaker believes that existential risks, such as a global pandemic or nuclear war, are a high priority because of the potential catastrophic consequences they could have. The loss of all human lives and the curtailment of humanity's future potential make it a crucial problem to address.

Q: How can individuals contribute to solving the problem of existential risks?

Individuals can contribute by supporting organizations that focus on these risks, engaging in political action by voting for candidates who prioritize these issues, and considering careers in fields related to these risks. There are various ways to make a difference and help address these crucial problems.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions have transformed the world, and our ethical understanding hasn't caught up with this progress.

• Effective altruism is a philosophy and research program that aims to do the most good in the world.

• The three moral issues that effective altruism focuses on are global health, factory farming, and existential risks like nuclear war and global pandemics.