Abstract
In order for humanity to avoid existential threat - that is, to prolong our death as a species indefinitely - we must develop a new approach to the threat of existentialism as it pertains to life. In this paper, I posit that our difficulties as a species have their root in a basic misapprehension of the infinite; that our ambition to grow forever in size, ability, and accomplishment reveals a powerful discomfort with the concept of infinity, which compels us to play finite games for an ostensibly infinite length of time. Since we seem not to have any intention of ending play in said games, prudence suggests we either alter the rules of engagement or invent new games entirely. I outline various possible methods for restructuring our scientific, socioeconomic, and philosophical games in an attempt to reconcile them with the infinite game we call the human endeavor.
Matt Illingworth