#16 – SJ Beard on Parfit, Climate Change, and Existential Risk

Dr S. J. Beard is a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, and an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker. With a background in philosophy, he works on ethical problems relating to the long-term future of humanity, as well as evaluating extreme technological risks. In this episode we discuss: [2:00] Existential risks defined in brief; [4:45] SJ's background; [12:30] What made philosopher Derek Parfit so influential; [17:30] What is the repugnant conclusion? [22:12] What is the non-identity problem? [28:40] Meeting Parfit; [34:20] Why SJ chose a career in existial risk research; [36:43] What existential risk research looks like; [45:58] How can we estimate the probability of catastrophes with no strict precedents? [56:52] Under what circumstances could climate change cause a collapse of global civilization? [1:07:52] Why SJ ran as an MP for the Liberal Democrats; [1:17:25] Is academia broken? How can we fix it? [1:23:23] Why SJ changed his mind about whether COVID is a potential global catastrophe You can read much more on this episode's accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/Simon. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, please get in touch through our website. Please also consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening to this. If you want to support the show more directly and help us keep hosting these episodes online, consider leaving a tip at https://www.tips.pinecast.com/jar/hear-this-idea. Thanks for listening!