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Existential Risk

[This is a note that was added after class]
You should be able to see the HW forms now.

Also, a few terms came up while we were talking after the presentation. None of these ideas are that hard to grasp, but they have fancy names and definitions. You don't have to read all these links; they are there in case you want to read more about the topic.

Consequentialism - "Consequentialism, as its name suggests, is the view that normative properties depend only on consequences. This general approach can be applied at different levels to different normative properties of different kinds of things, but the most prominent example is consequentialism about the moral rightness of acts, which holds that whether an act is morally right depends only on the consequences of that act or of something related to that act, such as the motive behind the act or a general rule requiring acts of the same kind."

Utilitarianism - "Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy. Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced."

A Utility Monster, and a comic involving one

Another moral framework, Deontological Ethics - "In contemporary moral philosophy, deontology is one of those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are morally required, forbidden, or permitted. In other words, deontology falls within the domain of moral theories that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do, in contrast to those that guide and assess what kind of person we are and should be. And within the domain of moral theories that assess our choices, deontologists stand in opposition to consequentialists."

The Categorical Imperative - "The categorical imperative is the central philosophical concept in the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Introduced in Kant's 1785 Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, it may be defined as a way of evaluating motivations for action."

[/Note]

Ok! back to a normal schedule. You have a week to do some reading, and catch up on the last reading assignment if needed.

Class presentation (if you missed it / for review)
 


The homework reading (also embedded below, but the link looks better):



 The homework questions:

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