Very close thinking to mine overall, thank you for this post!
My own approach is simple. We don’t know whether we’re heading towards dystopia or utopia. In some cases, it’s wise to be maximally pessimistic and assume dystopia. However, in the vast majority of cases, it is wiser to not only assume a utopian future, but to behave, to an extent which is realistic, as if we are already in a utopia. This “utopian zone” in our life should I think cover most interpersonal relationships, and definitely our relationship with our kids.
This simple principle—always act as if you’re in utopia, unless it’s too out of place—gives easy answers to most of the questions in this post. Should we have kids? Yes, because if we don’t, we’re already in dystopia! What to teach our kids? Assume we’re in utopia and teach them the skills of being happy, fulfilled, self-realized, not bored. Should we tell them about dangers ahead? Yes, because even in a utopia, you can tell kids scary fairy tales—kids love scary stuff. And so on.
My thinking on this was much stimulated by my writing a book for my 6yo son. I plan to publish it here on Lesswrong. A description is in the pinned comment in my profile. Would appreciate your checking it out!
Very close thinking to mine overall, thank you for this post!
My own approach is simple. We don’t know whether we’re heading towards dystopia or utopia. In some cases, it’s wise to be maximally pessimistic and assume dystopia. However, in the vast majority of cases, it is wiser to not only assume a utopian future, but to behave, to an extent which is realistic, as if we are already in a utopia. This “utopian zone” in our life should I think cover most interpersonal relationships, and definitely our relationship with our kids.
This simple principle—always act as if you’re in utopia, unless it’s too out of place—gives easy answers to most of the questions in this post. Should we have kids? Yes, because if we don’t, we’re already in dystopia! What to teach our kids? Assume we’re in utopia and teach them the skills of being happy, fulfilled, self-realized, not bored. Should we tell them about dangers ahead? Yes, because even in a utopia, you can tell kids scary fairy tales—kids love scary stuff. And so on.
My thinking on this was much stimulated by my writing a book for my 6yo son. I plan to publish it here on Lesswrong. A description is in the pinned comment in my profile. Would appreciate your checking it out!