That said, I also don't really think I see being an evolutionary dead end as too huge of a concern. Many of us appreciate things that aren't truly keen from an evolutionary perspective. Consider how many of us will remain happily childless (perhaps not yourself) well into our 30s and beyond. Not amazing for propagating our own personal genes and yet, they're decisions we actively and happily make.
The idea is that if it's between all people dead, or all people except evil space Nazis, I'll take evil space Nazis. Just because they are evil space Nazis now doesn't mean they will be hundreds of years from now, but they'll never get that chance if all humans are gone.
Human history is largely a story about bigoted, insular racist violent psychopaths becoming slightly less of each of those things over time. I don't see why that trend won't continue in general even if we hit a local maxima of fascist oppression from time to time (as this would be).
Because I love people, I can understand the concept of loving people in general, and want other people to be able to experience that. Human extinction means that nobody might ever experience that again, and I think that's a shame, and will do what I can to prevent that type of outcome.
> Many of us appreciate things that aren't truly keen from an evolutionary perspective.
There isn't appreciation of that type without people to do the appreciating. Your ability to appreciate it is provided by our current circumstances. I think keeping those circumstances active is worthwhile. Otherwise you are taking more than you are giving to the species as a whole, which is unsustainable if too many people do so. Even if you don't care about how sustainable it is, you would be riding on the hard work the rest of the species is putting into the system to propagate. Don't be taker.
And that's exactly why it's important.
> Survival of humanity isn't important universally.
Unless there is something there that cares about it, there is little reason for the universe to exist - nothing would know the difference.
Which is why it actually is important universally.
> But it's the most important thing for humans.
No, it's more important for the universe to have humans, than it is for humans to have a universe.
If the universe did not have humans (or another sentients) then it might as well not exist. AKA: Humans super important to the universe.
If humans did not have a universe, then humans would not exist. If humans did not exist then nothing is important to them.
1. What if humans become extinct in a few hundred years? Should the universe then not exist anymore and make more lifeforms?
2. What if there are billions of other "intelligent" species in the universe? Why should the universe care about one specific species that is actually not that great, and very destructive.
3. What if this universe is just an experiment, a petridish and we are just one out of billions of parameters.
4. What if our kind of intelligence is really not that impressive, what if intelligence of dark matter entities, which we don't know about anything is much more powerful, what if even that is not that impressive?
Again, the universe doesn't care. It is not a person, it doesn't have a plan, it is neutral, unless we met our "gods" one day. Humans are just a blip among much larger things that are happening in the universe.
I didn't say that. I said there is no difference between a universe not existing, and one that has no one who notices that it exists.
Re: 1 and 2 I said "(or another sentients)".
3: I guess you are implying someone made the universe and is running it? In that case, they are the ones aware of it, so that counts.
4: Hu?? What are dark matter entities? We notice the universe and care that it exists. That's enough. The specific level of intelligence, (or aggression for that matter) does not matter.
> Again, the universe doesn't care.
That's the point. WE care, and we are the ones that give the universe a "voice" as you will. We speak for it, we do the "caring" for it. Without us (or other sentients) it might as well not not exist.
> Humans are just a blip among much larger things that are happening in the universe.
Just because someone is big doesn't make it important. Importance comes from meaning. A really big explosion in space, that does noting at all, is completely unimportant. While a tiny little seed that someone wanted to plant matters a lot.
So at lest partially universe care about humanity.
At a meta level, if you truly don't care about the survival of your species (even if only through the survival of your own relatives and loved ones), you're an evolutionary dead end.