Monday, May 04, 2009
Are we Doomed? No.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend I chaired a very interesting discussion at the SciFi London film festival. In response for the current vogue for post-apocalyptic senarios in science fiction film, three speakers addressed the question “Are We Doomed?”, and you’ll be relieved to hear that the consensus was “no”.
However, it threw up some very interesting questions. If, as seems likely, we’re not doomed, we need to stop reacting to supposed crises and start setting some priorities for the future of human life. We are, as Michael Hanlon put it, doomed to have a future. Which means we have to start taking responsibility for shaping that future.
Science historian Steve Fuller suggested that the danger is not so much that bad things might happen to the human race, but that we adapt to them too easily, as the population in classic sci-fi dystopia Soylent Green accept euthanasia and cannibalism as the answer to overpopulation.
Overpopulation is a popular and, ironically, recurring theme of dystopian futures. As the human population continues to expand rapidly, and living conditions continue to improve in general, if very unevenly, there is still no shortage of people who think that the problem is too many people. When, in fact, it’s human ingenuity, ambition and energy that solves so many problems, from food shortages to clean energy.
Josie Appleton suggested that raising our collective sights from merely surviving to choosing and shaping the future is the most important challenge that faces us today. And with that, and many excellent points from the audience, we spilled out into the bar to continue arguing. A Bank Holiday Sunday well spent.
The event was a satellite for the Battle of Ideas, and I’m looking forward to the next one, a post G20 public summit looking at the economic crisis.
However, it threw up some very interesting questions. If, as seems likely, we’re not doomed, we need to stop reacting to supposed crises and start setting some priorities for the future of human life. We are, as Michael Hanlon put it, doomed to have a future. Which means we have to start taking responsibility for shaping that future.
Science historian Steve Fuller suggested that the danger is not so much that bad things might happen to the human race, but that we adapt to them too easily, as the population in classic sci-fi dystopia Soylent Green accept euthanasia and cannibalism as the answer to overpopulation.
Overpopulation is a popular and, ironically, recurring theme of dystopian futures. As the human population continues to expand rapidly, and living conditions continue to improve in general, if very unevenly, there is still no shortage of people who think that the problem is too many people. When, in fact, it’s human ingenuity, ambition and energy that solves so many problems, from food shortages to clean energy.
Josie Appleton suggested that raising our collective sights from merely surviving to choosing and shaping the future is the most important challenge that faces us today. And with that, and many excellent points from the audience, we spilled out into the bar to continue arguing. A Bank Holiday Sunday well spent.
The event was a satellite for the Battle of Ideas, and I’m looking forward to the next one, a post G20 public summit looking at the economic crisis.
