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The End of the World: The Science and Ethics of Human Extinction 1st Edition

by John Leslie (Author)
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Are we in imminent danger of extinction? Yes, we probably are, argues John Leslie in his chilling account of the dangers facing the human race as we approach the second millenium. The End of the World is a sobering assessment of the many disasters that scientists have predicted and speculated on as leading to apocalypse. In the first comprehensive survey, potential catastrophes - ranging from deadly diseases to high-energy physics experiments - are explored to help us understand the risks. One of the greatest threats facing humankind, however, is the insurmountable fact that we are a relatively young species, a risk which is at the heart of the 'Doomsday Argument' This argument, if correct, makes the dangers we face more serious than we could have ever imagined. This more than anything makes the arrogance and ignorance of politicians, and indeed philosophers, so disturbing as they continue to ignore the manifest dangers facing future generations.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780415184472
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0415184472
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publication date
    April 19, 1998
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    5.43 x 0.74 x 8.5 inches
  7. Print length
    328 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Well written and enjoyably frightening. Top people ought to read it. It may change the way they think and act.' - Michael Thompson-Noel, Financial Times

'This is an important and excellent book; a brief history of the end of our time. To paraphrase: don't die in ignorance.' - Patrick Neate, The Face

'A startling work that is sure to rile and beguile professional philosophers and lay readers alike.' - Times Literary Supplement

'An originality and boldness of thought that makes Leslie's work stand out from much other work being done today.' - Canadian Journal of Philosophy

'Tightly argued and well written book.' - Network

About the Author

Leslie, John

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0415184479
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (April 19, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 328 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780415184472
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0415184472
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1440L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.43 x 0.74 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 16 ratings

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John Leslie

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Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
16 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kaiviti
3.0 out of 5 stars A title today more relevant than ever
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024
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The product (first published in 1996) appeared to be a new reprint.
I look forward to reading it
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xkrnxdrmrx
4.0 out of 5 stars interesting read!
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2012
Verified Purchase
I am not done with this book yet. It took me a while to get used to this author's style of writing, but I am hooked on it now. His theories are very compelling, and it really opens your brain to things that you never would think of. this book also provides very interesting facts to back up his theories. I would highly recommend this book!
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Yehezkel Dror
3.0 out of 5 stars READ HALF OF IT
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2012
This book is a strange mixture of four elements. The first presents main dangers to the survival of humanity, with preliminary references to the Carter "doomsday argument." The second deals with philosophical arguments on prolonging human history. The third takes up at greater length the doomsday argument. And the fourth suddenly jumps to a short excursus on nuclear deterrence.
The book up to page 153 is recommended to all who worry, with good causes, about the future of the human species. This part well presents main dangers facing the survival of humanity in the short and long term. Necessary measures needed for reducing the likelihood of termination of the human species are hinted at, including "politically incorrect" ones such as strong global governance (pp. 98, 146) with a huge police force (p. 106), limitations on science and technology (p. 90), and intrusive personal surveillance (p. 42). This is all the more noteworthy as most books dealing with dangers to humanity fail to draw realistic conclusions on what needs to be done.
The book fails to consider the main root cause of possible demise of humanity, namely the inadequacies of its moral, cognitive, emotional and institutional capacities, as limited by genetics and constrained cultural learning, for using well the unprecedented capabilities to shape its future supplied to the human species by science and technology.
Still, the cardinal message emanating from the first 153 pages is compelling: Extinction of humanity in the foreseeable future is a real possibility, but its likelihood can be much reduced if humanity adopts a range of countermeasures, including counter-conventional ones.
However I cannot in good conscience recommend the rest of the book. The philosophical position of the author in effect grants ontological standing to moral values, with some states of affairs being regarded as "in fact" good or bad. This misrepresents the very nature of values as depending ultimately on human choice, however influenced by genetics and environments, without which there cannot be deep moral responsibility.
The Carlson hypothesis, claiming that it is unlikely that we are born in the early history of humanity, to which much space is devoted, is a stimulating probabilistic speculation. But it is not sound, in part by ignoring that the chance of anyone of us being born at all is infinitesimal small. Indeed, all the probabilistic approach of the author permeating the book does not fit the fuzziness of the subject. Thus, stating that the probability of humanity being soon destroyed is 30 per cent (p.133) illustrates misplaced exactness. It would be much better to use an adjusted version of the scales of modal logic, such as "possible," likely," and "unlikely."
Discussing deterrence in one of my books (Israeli Statecraft, 2011, pp. 25-26, 182-183), let me limit my comment on the book's treatment of the subject to saying that this is much too serious an issue to be taken up apropos in the last few pages of the book).

Professor Yehezkel Dror
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
4 people found this helpful
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JM Showalter
4.0 out of 5 stars A good and wholly entertaining book....
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2000
The reviewer below misses the thrust of Leslie's argument. Initially, in the first two chapters of the book, he sets out to list ALL of the ways through which society could become extinct (a notion that has not been held in high esteem for policymaking relevance, anyway, in modern society). As such, he does borrow a lot from other authors. And, adding in, his lifting of the mathematical equation suggesting that we are near the end of 'our' time on the Earth makes mathematical sense, even if being totally anthropomorphic.... And the case is made, if you let it be, that we should probably start thinking about how we are going to 'go', and plan thereof....
Aside from that, this book is a riot. The first two chapters, though morbid, are a laugh. The book (setting aside the good philosophy) should be read just for the initial paranoia. It's all in good fun....
9 people found this helpful
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Takis Tz.
2.0 out of 5 stars Hint: the end is surely scarier with books like this...
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2004
To begin with, if you tend on the masochistic side this book will definately serve ya well. No, not because of the subject matter, absolutely not. The fact that the probabilities we're heading into extinction are increasing daily is undeniable unless you've turned your brain off and that I'd be willing to believe after having lived 37 years and watched my fellow humans go on about their affairs they way they do.
No, that would not be why this book is actually a torture. After you're done with the first half of the book you might feel a little tired if not somewhat numb. You'll just be done with going over various disasters that are threatening us, most of which are self-caused: comets about to blast us to kingdome-come, nuclear wars intending to fry us ruthlessly into oblivion, diseases which either "jumped" out of labs or out of nature's arsenal, overpopulation and pollution and the combination of thse two, shortage of food, nanotechnology and the machines taking over (where's Arnie when ya need him) and so on and on.
Now this is all a reality most of us are too irresponsible to face up to, indeed, as a species we are what i call "perversely intelligent", that is, we have intellectual horsepower which is incredibly difficult to groom in a a truly meaningful way and we are thus subjects to dangers caused by that very intelligence.
Writting a book about this, should be, again perversely, highly entertaining. It would by default be humorous because how can you actually discuss so much shortshightedness, idiocy, and the impending doom as the direct product without seeing the humour in it? The author of this book can. He takes us through these fist chapters with a language so dry and lifeless you'd think the end is already behind us and books are now written by left-over survivor computers which were not programmed for humour.
Ah, but wait. You thought this is heavy, and if you havent quit by then (being possibly not the lion-hearted type) you're in for a major treatment that will suck out all your life force and leave you connected to another machine checking for a pulse:
the latter part of the book (its second half practically) is basically a ridiculous attempt to tie all this together with philosophy. Now philosophy, for the uninitiated, isnt supposed to be a life-threatening experience. Not really. Professor Leslie though, puts in a courageous effort to convince us of the opposite, and I'd be lying if i said he doesnt coming damn close.
Taking up highly insignificant theories few ever heard of, and elevating them to the holy grail of philosophy, the author transforms his book to a readscape as fertile as the Sahara. Hundreds of pages of pretentious pomp about not much really isnt what i associate with philosophy. Especially when it's coupled with aggresive arrogance : not too few times, the author basically praises himself after he argues on his own with his imaginary opponents in the philosophy field, beats them and then triumphantly announces his victory. That's downright pathetic and even if the philosophical quest in this book was enjoyable (far, very far from) this would still spoil it beyond recovery.
Look elsewhere. You dont need the suffering really. The author does convince us that the end is near (which isnt hard actually) but then, since it is, why make it all the more agonisingly painful by going through unbearable books such as this? Save the precious little time you have left.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Yehezkel Dror
3.0 out of 5 stars READ HALF OF IT
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book is a strange mixture of four elements. The first presents main dangers to the survival of humanity, with preliminary references to the Carter "doomsday argument." The second deals with philosophical arguments on prolonging human history. The third takes up at greater length the doomsday argument. And the fourth suddenly jumps to a short excursus on nuclear deterrence.
The book up to page 153 is recommended to all who worry, with good causes, about the future of the human species. This part well presents main dangers facing the survival of humanity in the short and long term. Necessary measures needed for reducing the likelihood of termination of the human species are hinted at, including "politically incorrect" ones such as strong global governance (pp. 98, 146) with a huge police force (p. 106), limitations on science and technology (p. 90), and intrusive personal surveillance (p. 42). This is all the more noteworthy as most books dealing with dangers to humanity fail to draw realistic conclusions on what needs to be done.
The book fails to consider the main root cause of possible demise of humanity, namely the inadequacies of its moral, cognitive, emotional and institutional capacities, as limited by genetics and constrained cultural learning, for using well the unprecedented capabilities to shape its future supplied to the human species by science and technology.
Still, the cardinal message emanating from the first 153 pages is compelling: Extinction of humanity in the foreseeable future is a real possibility, but its likelihood can be much reduced if humanity adopts a range of countermeasures, including counter-conventional ones.
However I cannot in good conscience recommend the rest of the book. The philosophical position of the author in effect grants ontological standing to moral values, with some states of affairs being regarded as "in fact" good or bad. This misrepresents the very nature of values as depending ultimately on human choice, however influenced by genetics and environments, without which there cannot be deep moral responsibility.
The Carlson hypothesis, claiming that it is unlikely that we are born in the early history of humanity, to which much space is devoted, is a stimulating probabilistic speculation. But it is not sound, in part by ignoring that the chance of anyone of us being born at all is infinitesimal small. Indeed, all the probabilistic approach of the author permeating the book does not fit the fuzziness of the subject. Thus, stating that the probability of humanity being soon destroyed is 30 per cent (p.133) illustrates misplaced exactness. It would be much better to use an adjusted version of the scales of modal logic, such as "possible," likely," and "unlikely."
Discussing deterrence in one of my books (Israeli Statecraft, 2011, pp. 25-26, 182-183), let me limit my comment on the book's treatment of the subject to saying that this is much too serious an issue to be taken up apropos in the last few pages of the book).

Professor Yehezkel Dror
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Report