In science, theories eventually get discarded if they lack explanatory power. This mechanism acts quite slowly at times, as we can see in the case of string theory. But over the course of history it has worked quite well. Nobody spends time on the phlogiston theory of combustion. It is at best of historical interest but doesn’t inform current science or engineering.

In philosophy on the other hand, texts continue to be studied, no matter how impractical, useless, or even detrimental the ideas have turned out to be for the lives of individuals, the functioning of communities and the progress of humanity overall. While something like string theory is an aberration in science, it is the norm in philosophy. Philosophy has turned out to be much closer to religion than to science.

This has resulted in a profound asymmetry. With scientific theories pruned effectively we have been able to achieve rapid technological progress. But stuck in a morass of ever growing useless philosophy we have failed to achieve moral progress. This is an incredibly dangerous combination. E. O. Wilson perfectly captured this “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.”

Here is an exchange about the need for moral progress from a longer conversation I had with Jonathan Bi earlier this year for the Cosmos Institute:

What is the road forward? We need to pursue philosophy that is directly aimed at moral progress and rooted in our scientific understanding of the world. My blog series Philosophy Mondays is meant to make a small contribution to this. Together with Gigi,  we have also been supporting research (through the Eutopia Foundation) that is connected to important philosophical questions, such as finding firm underpinnings for human agency and integrating values in artificial intelligence.

If you are a fellow traveler on this journey we would love to hear from you. What are the best ideas on moral progress you have found? What projects have the most potential to accelerate moral progress? 

In science, theories eventually get discarded if they lack explanatory power. This mechanism acts quite slowly at times, as we can see in the case of string theory. But over the course of history it has worked quite well. Nobody spends time on the phlogiston theory of combustion. It is at best of historical interest but doesn’t inform current science or engineering.

In philosophy on the other hand, texts continue to be studied, no matter how impractical, useless, or even detrimental the ideas have turned out to be for the lives of individuals, the functioning of communities and the progress of humanity overall. While something like string theory is an aberration in science, it is the norm in philosophy. Philosophy has turned out to be much closer to religion than to science.

This has resulted in a profound asymmetry. With scientific theories pruned effectively we have been able to achieve rapid technological progress. But stuck in a morass of ever growing useless philosophy we have failed to achieve moral progress. This is an incredibly dangerous combination. E. O. Wilson perfectly captured this “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.”

Here is an exchange about the need for moral progress from a longer conversation I had with Jonathan Bi earlier this year for the Cosmos Institute:

What is the road forward? We need to pursue philosophy that is directly aimed at moral progress and rooted in our scientific understanding of the world. My blog series Philosophy Mondays is meant to make a small contribution to this. Together with Gigi,  we have also been supporting research (through the Eutopia Foundation) that is connected to important philosophical questions, such as finding firm underpinnings for human agency and integrating values in artificial intelligence.

If you are a fellow traveler on this journey we would love to hear from you. What are the best ideas on moral progress you have found? What projects have the most potential to accelerate moral progress?