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The Final exam is worth 15 marks, it is in two parts, and it covers material we have studied since the Reading Week: Politics, Climate/Capitalism, and Biotech.
10 multiple choice questions worth 1 marks each, for a total of ten marks.
I have mentioned the article by Edward O. Wilson called "Is humanity suicidal?" Wilson was a sociobiologist, and he suggested that humanity would destroy its own environment, ironically because we're so smart and so successful at manipulating nature for our own purposes. Because we are highly intelligent and capable of creating tools that are potentially or eventually globally destructive, such as cars, nuclear weapons, and factory meat production, Wilson suggested that we will throw the ecosystem out of balance and it will collapse on us, or we will destroy ourselves in some other way (nuclear war, biotech accidents, etc). Although scientists can see the dangers, ordinary people have little awareness of this larger picture, and are preoccupied with their day-to-day lives. Our genetic programming leads us to think only of our immediate families and immediate futures, and pushes us to overexploit our environment whenever we have the chance. To save the human race, we would all need to be able to think further ahead, show caution and restraint, feel individual and societal responsibility, and agree to cooperate globally at the expense of immediate short-term gains.
Answer these questions:
Do you think humanity is suicidal? How do you feel about it?
Given what you have heard about in the lessons on Politics, Climate, Capitalism, and Biotech, do you think it Is good to have the competitive capitalist free market as the most powerful force driving the future of humankind? Why or why not?
If it could be shown that we need to change the way we live radically in order to avoid suffering and global disaster, do you think we will be able to make those hard choices? Why or why not?
Do you think you would be prepared to drive and travel less, consume much less, eat much less meat to make a better future for everyone? Why or why not?
Are you hopeful for the future of the human race? Why or why not?