The Monday Mix (27/02/2023)
Hi friends,
Not much to report this week so I’ll get straight into it. I’ll also send out my reading list for February on Wednesday, with all the books I’ve read during the month.
Here’s what I want to share this week:
The Moral Implications of Human Extinction
A somewhat morbid article but a fascinating one nonetheless. The article looks at the moral implications of human extinction and the different cases for and against it. Yes, unbelievably, there are people who would like to see humans become extinct! One argument is that preventing human extinction is paramount because it would deny future generations the opportunity to live. While this is true, I think I tend towards the view that preventing humans alive from experiencing such an event is more important than the former and will prevent future generations from not being born anyway. It’s a long piece but worth reading as the implications are profound.
Accelerationism: The Fringe Philosophy That Predicted the Future
Interesting piece about the political theory/ideology of accelerationism. The basic premise is that everything should be sped up. An example is that if the economy isn’t growing fast enough, the shackles stopping it should be unleashed. This is what Liz Truss sought to do here in the UK, and she accelerated through her period as PM in record time! In a way, we are living in an accelerated world, and the pace of technological change has been rapid in the past 20 years even though it might not feel like it. While China is the archetype of an accelerationist state, one where technology is implemented in almost all elements of daily life. Is China a model we should follow? No, it strikes me as a cold country devoid of personal freedoms. As with all theories and ideologies, there are plenty of good ideas but in practice, they can often hit stumbling blocks.
Mysterious Items Washing Up on Beaches
If you came across the story of the mysterious sphere washing up on a Japanese beach recently, then this story will interest you. While the headline might be slightly misleading, it’s still interesting to read about some of the things that have washed up on beaches. My favourite was Garfield phones that kept washing up on beaches in Brittany! What this reveals is that we produce a lot of goods, a lot of waste and a big portion of it ends up in the ocean only to wash up on shore later on. It’s sobering o think how much rubbish is in the ocean as I type, waiting to be washed up somewhere.
Book I’m reading - In Europe by Geert Mak
280 pages into this and it’s exceeded my expectations so far. The book is broken down into sections that reflect decades in European history and sees Mak travel around various cities and countries that played a big role in these decades. Not only do you learn a lot about the places visited but you learn about what was happening at the time too. The section that follows Lenin’s route back to St Petersburg from Zurich was particularly interesting. Mak wrote a follow-up book recently and I will be buying it once I’ve finished this one!
Quote I’m pondering: – “We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.” ― Milan Kundera
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom