conquering the inevitable

Conquering the Inevitable: The Plan for the Continuance of Human Civilization Against All Odds

One of the most profound human desires is to discover why we exist, and learn how we can contribute as individuals to human civilization. There are many different views on this philosophical question. Some views use evidence when proposing the answer to this question, other views use myth and unjustified evidence when answering this question. There are many different unjustified views, which are effectively different religions, and many different justified views, which are intertwined with secular beliefs.
Modern scientists have found that the percentage chance of human existence is extremely low, even more then a decimal followed by more then fifty zeros. However, the amount of planets in the universe is a number bordering on the edge of infinity, so by counting accumulation in, life is almost definite to occur somewhere. The amount of planets far outweighs the percent of life occurring on a random planet, so there must be many planets with life. Not only will life occur abundantly, but also evolution by natural selection will eventually produce intelligent beings such as us. According to the above, there should be numerous times in which we come into contact with extraterrestrial beings. After all, scientists are beginning to find more and more planets with earth-like characteristics capable of supporting life. So why have we not had contact with extraterrestrial beings? Well, my theory is that there must have been a great filter, which eliminates the chance of a civilization surviving.
The great filter can be any event, which would occur in any civilization of intelligence around or higher than ours that would cause the termination of the entire species. We can only hope that we have gotten past this filter, or the continuance of humanity is at great risk. But as scientists find more and more life, we can assume that this filter is probably not behind us. If we found an extraterrestrial civilization, which has reached a stage of technology millions of years ahead of ours, then that is theoretically good news. After all, if they survived the filter, then the filter is probably in our past. However, we did not encounter a civilization like this, so I can only assume this filter is ahead of us.
One of the most plausible theories I have come up with is the theory that all other extraterrestrial civilizations were destroyed by the first extraterrestrial civilization. However, technically we would have already been terminated, since a civilization of this power would surely have produced instruments, which can detect life. Ruling out that theory, the only possible great filter I can see ahead of us is self-termination. To understand this theory, we must first look at the history of science and technology. Technology has always been making new tools which can both harm and help us over the years, and has done so at a steady pace. However, if you take a closer look at technology you see that new inventions are becoming more and more abundant. Consider that the car, the computer, the cell phone and the nuclear bomb were all created in the last century. Having 4 such important inventions occurring in the same century seems preposterous when compared with technological advancement in other, earlier centuries. In fact, the rate at which technology is being produced is increasing rapidly. To better understand the increase in technology, an analogy might be helpful. Look at the way Bacteria reproduce. Starting out with 1 bacterium, the amount of bacteria double every generation. Here is the list of bacteria per generation: 1st: 1, 2nd: 2, 3rd: 4, 4th:8,5th:16, 6th:32, 7th:64. So the rate at which bacterium, or new inventions in our case, is being reproduced faster as time goes on. Keep in mind that technology also advances, so more dangerous and more helpful technology is both rapidly being increased. But who would want the extermination of the entire race, after all that does include themselves as well as the rest of humanity; so even the most self-absorbed people would not be compelled to commit such a crime. Only people who think that the extermination of humankind would somehow benefit themselves would terminate humankind. But how would it benefit themselves if they are dying in the process? If you have not yet unearthed what kind of person would do this, you must have a rather peculiar habit of avoiding the media. Many surveys reveal that many Muslims living in the Middle East have the opinion that suicide bombing provides rewards for the bomber. So in many fanatics’ minds, the extermination of humankind would be the ultimate success. Since technology which can ultimately result in self-termination is becoming more and more abundant, the chances of this technology getting into the wrong hands is only becoming greater. The challenge of stopping existential risks is a unique one, since we have not had experiences with them nor is it possible to while still surviving. The first existential risk and the only one at the moment is a nuclear holocaust occurring. While nuclear power obviously has many benefits, the danger of nuclear weapons far outweighs the benefits. Many countries are in possession of technology, which can potentially cause the extermination of humankind, and the war between any two of them would be catastrophic. While the specific name of the technologies do not matter, technology will surely be developed that is hundreds of times more dangerous then nuclear weapons.
So what should our worldview be? Should we begin a stage of technological abandonment, returning to a more natural world? No, this is not necessary and it would not be in the best interest of humanity to go backwards instead of forwards. Should we abandon all hope, adopting a nihilistic worldview? No, there are ways to stop this problem. There are two ways in which humankind may terminate them selves with technology: 1. Two countries having a war with each other that each has these existential weapons. And 2. A person using weapons that can cause the extermination of humankind based on religious views that promote suicidal action. To stop the 1st problem religious, ancestral, and national racism must be dissolved. No one should favor another person based on their religion, nationality, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factors similar to the ones mentioned above. This could become possible by the founding of a world government, which allows each country to have their own national laws, but this world government has the capability to outlaw laws, which are unjust. The world government will prevent war and racism and to some extent the second problem. However, a policy must be adopted which says something like the following: A technology with only harmful purposes cannot be produced, and a technology with harmful and helpful purposes must have a defense mechanism which can prevent the harm that could potentially be caused by this technology. These two solutions would provide a check on technology, and allow human civilization to conquer the great filter lying ahead of us; and allow human colonization to venture into the deepest depths of the cosmos…