At 70, my future is a lot shorter than my past. I'm fine with that. Ten more years would be about right--twenty, too long. But I could be dead this afternoon. There aren't any big exciting events on my schedule, so that would be alright too. — Bitter Crank
I do not see a techno-utopia in our future, but certainly more machines and AI. Some people expect life-altering, paradigm-redefining technology. I do not, because I expect that little new technology will be developed first and foremost for the benefit of humankind as a whole. IF retinal replacements, enhanced memory and thinking implants, or body replacements made to order turn out to be practical, they will be standard fare for only a small elite. — Bitter Crank
Not sure. Do you mean that most people have a bias towards the future, which fits in well with our culture's sense of progress? But, not everyone. — Cavacava
Well that doesn't really address anything I've said. We are perfectly capable of beginning space colonization, first the inner solar system, then in the outer, and within another couple centuries we'll likely be able to begin venturing beyond the solar system into interstellar space. My point is that this is necessary to ensure our long term survival, we don't have a choice.It's not obviously feasible, so if colonizing a planet belonging to another star is a serious suggestion, then you should suggest a feasible way to do it. That's my point. — Bitter Crank
Thus, this somewhat justifies my sentiment that most philosophers are committing an error in omitting what the future may be like with respect to the past, and instead propose monolithic and idealistic conceptions of society and governance. — Question
Any "general thinker" should try to get a grip on as much past and future as he can manage: understand where we have come from (not an easy task) and where we seem to be headed (a more difficult path). Some cataclysm can create altogether new and unexpected possibilities for the future (like the meteoric hit in the Yucatan that ruined things for the big lizards and created an opening for us mammals). Cataclysms are rare, though. — Bitter Crank
We can be confident that if we do not preserve and enhance the environment we have (even though somewhat degraded) we reduce our chances of biological and cultural survival into the longer-term future. If our biological survival is quite likely--sex and DNA will take care of that--our cultural survival is only as certain as generation-to-generation maintenance. A full set of culture has to be successfully transmitted from one generation to the next. When the transmission is less than complete, the culture can be gone in as few as 3 generations -- maybe less. — Bitter Crank
When the western Roman Empire went out of business, a millennium was required to recover the cultural goods that had been everyday fare in the empire. A collapse of our culture--happening rapidly or slowly--might take longer to recover, likely not much less. — Bitter Crank
We have barely tapped the surface of this planet in regards to minerals and other natural resources. — Question
I guess this is just me whining about why people tend to appeal to ideals when the fact of the matter is that historically idealistic notions of governance don't stand the test of time. Perhaps only democracy, yet the concept of 'democracy' seems at odds with idealistic beliefs about governance. — Question
Yes, this is true. Globalism though has mitigated that fear along with the abundance of information at one's fingertips. I don't think a cataclysm would set back us as a civilization that dramatically. — Question
Well, I mean that any conception of 'the future' is dependent on some concept of the past by an individual. So, to answer my own question, so it would seem, that to have a concept about the future, some point of reference is necessary.
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