Publication details
Přelidnění a filosofie
| Title in English | Human Overpopulation and Philosophy |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This presentation aimed to familiarize the philosophical audience with the human overpopulation, sustainability, unsustainability, problems unsustainable humanity is causing, sustainable size of the human population, and how to achieve it (through voluntary family planning, education, and empowerment of girls and women, environmental ethics and education, reproductive ethics, especially one-child ethics). Further, the presentation introduces new – so far undiscussed – philosophical questions and problems, namely: (1) the problem of the value of human life – What is the value of human life in an overpopulated world? Is it the same? Or does it decrease? (2) the general question for the size of humanity – Is it good/better if there are more of us? Why/for what reason? Would it not be better if there were fewer of us? Is it about „quality of human life or quantity of human flesh?“ (3) the problem of reproduction – the goal of reproduction is survival (of the species), but right now, one species (Homo sapiens) threatens with its over-reproduction its survival, just as survival of other species (and the whole biosphere). Is (over)reproduction good? Or is it unethical – „to kid or not to kid?“ The presentation concludes by stating that it is not that important to discuss the aforementioned theoretical and academic issues but to discuss how to really bring humanity down to its long-term sustainable size; thus, that practical, not theoretical, philosophy is needed. |
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