Existential Risk Prevention as Global Priority
نویسنده
چکیده
Existential risks are those that threaten the entire future of humanity. Many theories of value imply that even relatively small reductions in net existential risk have enormous expected value. Despite their importance, issues surrounding human-extinction risks and related hazards remain poorly understood. In this article, I clarify the concept of existential risk and develop an improved classification scheme. I discuss the relation between existential risks and basic issues in axiology, and show how existential risk reduction (via the maxipok rule) can serve as a strongly action-guiding principle for utilitarian concerns. I also show how the notion of existential risk suggests a new way of thinking about the ideal of sustainability.
منابع مشابه
The imperative for health promotion in universal health coverage
Health promotion and disease prevention have huge impact on health, yet given low priority, risk being overlooked in universal health coverage efforts. To effectively prioritize promotion and prevention, strong cadres of personnel are needed with expertise in legislation and health policy, social and behavior change communication, prevention and community health, health journalism, environmenta...
متن کاملA Systems Thinking Approach to Inform Coherent Policy Action for NCD Prevention; Comment on “How Neoliberalism Is Shaping the Supply of Unhealthy Commodities and What This Means for NCD Prevention”
Lencucha and Thow tackle the enormous public health challenge of developing non-communicable disease (NCD) policy coherence within a world structured and ruled by neoliberalism. Their work compliments scholarship on other causal mechanisms, including the commercial determinants of health, that have contributed to creating the risk commodity environment and barriers to N...
متن کاملPursuing progress in acute coronary syndromes.
The sheer scope of the burden of acute ischemic heart disease, initially evident in Western civilization but now increasingly a global problem, places a high priority on understanding its pathophysiology and identifying individuals at increased risk of morbid and mortal events. So too is there strong impetus for the timely development and introduction of cost-effective therapeutic solutions cou...
متن کاملGlobal research priorities for interpersonal violence prevention: a modified Delphi study
OBJECTIVE To establish global research priorities for interpersonal violence prevention using a systematic approach. METHODS Research priorities were identified in a three-round process involving two surveys. In round 1, 95 global experts in violence prevention proposed research questions to be ranked in round 2. Questions were collated and organized according to the four-step public health a...
متن کاملGlobal Risk Assessment to Guide Blood Pressure Management in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention.
Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Epidemiological analyses have established the graded and continuous association between higher BP and CVD. Moreover, randomized clinical trials among individuals with hypertension have demonstrated, in aggregate, a reduction in CVD events by 20%, coronary heart disease (CHD) by 17%, stroke by 27%, and heart f...
متن کامل