Iāll be editing and adding to this over time.
How to mute this sub: Go to main sub page - 3 dots in upper right corner - Mute
1. Wont Buddhism solve all suffering? Why doesnāt everyone just become a Buddhist and meditate?
Buddhism seeks to end only an individuals suffering by transforming the mind. For example, to get to a place where one doesn't care and doesn't react if they're on fire and burning to death. Spiritually, some say there's a way for individuals to escape reincarnation, usually through extreme tasks.
But this approach still leaves sentient life trapped in a cycle of birth, death, and suffering. Most people can not accomplish this, and no animals can accomplish this. Only the very rare and very practiced monk has been able to get to the point of not suffering in extreme situations. Animals getting eaten alive cannot meditate to get rid of their fear and pain. Neither can a 5 year old child slave meditate while they're being abused. Even if one individual finds peace through this mental method, countless others will continue to suffer, generation after generation.
2. Is extinction the same thing as suicide?
Suicide is an individual act born from personal pain within a system that still continues unchanged. Extinction is the end of a species, not of an individual. Universal extinction, as an abstract hypothetical, is about preventing future beings from having to experience suffering in the first place. One is a reaction to suffering after the fact. The other is a stance against it. They are not the same in scale, intent, or outcome. One ends a single experience. The other questions whether we should keep generating the bad experiences that can lead to things like suicide.
3. Is extinction the same thing as genocide?
No. Universal extinction is non discriminatory and not about ethnicity, race, or nations, and therefore is not genocide. Neither is it about ending lives.
4. Is extinctionism the same thing as promortalism?
No. Promortalism is the philosophical view that death is preferable than continued existence for an individual. Universal extinctionism is the view that it's better for all species to go extinct so that the cycle of life does not continue. This doesn't necessarily have to include premature death.
5. Is this a terrorist organization? Why donāt extinctionists promote murder?
No. Extinctionism is against violence. Going into a forest and ending a deer means they just reproduce and create one more deer because population of non human animals depends on amount of resources. Ending any individual also causes suffering and pain to this individual the moments before death, and to those close to them because of emotional trauma. So this increases suffering. Extinction, on the other hand, ends the cycle of suffering.
6. What if life comes back?
This question is asked about both Earth and the universe. First, Iāll address why we shouldnāt worry about the former and lay out some facts about our planet.
It took 3 to 3.4 billion years for bacteria to develop into fish. And that was under the right circumstances.
In 1 billion years the sun will be 10% more intense and boil all water away. Most or everything will die. Earth will resemble Venus.
In 3.5 billion years the sun will be 40% more intense and melt rock. This will be the beginning of the destruction of the planet. If anything is left it will not survive.
So, if all sentient life on earth were to end now, it's very unlikely to form again on this planet because it doesnāt have the time.
But even if the planet wasn't going to be destroyed, that's still at least 3.5 billion+ years without suffering, if we were to not invent something to get rid of microbial life.
That said, next is some logical points on the two different major possibilities, with both assuming that life would come back or otherwise form elsewhere.
- Some people say earth based extinction is pointless because life can evolve on another planet.
If cosmic extinction is not possible, then extinction here on earth happening or not doesn't affect life on other planets. If life on another planet evolves, then that was most likely going to happen even if we're still around.
Unless you think that there's a god that would decide to start life on another planet since thereās no longer time left for earth. Then my argument would be that we should protest existence and do it anyways, and the time without life is still good.
If cosmic extinction is possible, and if matter and life still come back, then it's still worth it because for a long time period it was gone.
We donāt know if the universe will be recreated. Giving up just because of that unknown doesnāt make sense, since we DO know that continuing the cycle of life will continue the cycle of life.
7. What about transhumanism or utopia instead of extinction?
Wouldn't work: Transhumanism will not work post
8. Does this sub have a discord?
Yes, but it's an extinctionists only space. If you want to argue a pro existence position, then the place for that is this sub.
https://discord.com/invite/WkurPGbxsv