The argument for strong longtermism raises and revitalises a host of fascinating and underexplored questions across moral philosophy and decision theory. They are questions that simultaneously revitalise multiple areas of moral philosophy, connect philosophy to other academic disciplines, and make deep and important contact between the worlds of academic humanities and social sciences research on the one hand, and the world of large-scale practical affairs on the other.
Hilary Greaves’ work on strong longtermism discusses the possibility that in many important decision situations, one of the most important things about the decision is not the effects of the resulting action on the here and now, the next 5 years, or even the remaining lifespan of the agent, but rather the effects of the action on the very far future.
During her stay at the Institute for Futures Studies, Hilary Greaves will undertake both foundational research in philosophy, and interdisciplinary research with multiple other academic disciplines.
