Recently I have taken up a project about survival - in the first place of human civilisation, but nowadays much of the rest of life on the planet depnds on that too. In effect I will be both supporting Toby Ord's work on 'existential risk' and pushing the applications further. Ord's theme has become more urgent now with the revival of nuclear threats in particular.

The special angles I hope to draw attention to are: (a) Even moral considerations - of all kinds - have to play second fiddle to survival, as the latter is the first condition for any values at all; (b) Traditional just war theory has too many problems, including around the blurred distinction between combatants and non-combatants and the ambiguous nature of innocence itself. So efforts at disarmament are better focused on survival as such, and developing nonviolent competition such as in sport and games; (c) The philosophical issue between universalism and particularism becomes secondary in a context of universal danger, which particular communities cannot escape; (d) Survival points to a need to pay attention the links between rationality and emotions, and managing the latter. This has been a developing theme in philosophy since John Macmurray in the 1930s. Any emotions are relevant; most obviously fear and anxiety, but hope, empathy, and love are also crucial and survival has to manage pride. 

If I am lucky with the practicalities like an index and pagination, for instance with improved technology, an ebook might the route to take.

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