Ethics for the End of Everything

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Philosophers must reckon with the meaning of thermodynamics | Aeon Essays Everything eats and is eaten. Everything destroys and is destroyed. It is our moral duty to strike back at the Universe

This Essay, arguing that philosophy must reckon with the meaning of thermodynamics, was one of our readers’ favourites of 2025. Today we’re re sharing it along with a new quote from the author

Philosophers must reckon with the meaning of thermodynamics | Aeon Essays Everything eats and is eaten. Everything destroys and is destroyed. It is our moral duty to strike back at the Universe

"Life is always contributing to the eventual collapse of the cosmos."

Read Drew Dalton's musings on philosophy, thermodynamics, and the end. Then if you hunger for more on the quiet horror that structures existence, grab a copy of his THE MATTER OF EVIL.

aeon.co/essays/philo...

Philosophers must reckon with the meaning of thermodynamics | Aeon Essays Everything eats and is eaten. Everything destroys and is destroyed. It is our moral duty to strike back at the Universe

Life is a moral catastrophe. To exist is to be unavoidably complicit in an order that is entirely evil. What are we to do about this moral fact? Should we retire from existence as quickly and as peacefully as possible? Or is there another way?

Philosophers must reckon with the meaning of thermodynamics | Aeon Essays Everything eats and is eaten. Everything destroys and is destroyed. It is our moral duty to strike back at the Universe

aeon.co/essays/philo...

Thanks, Jon. Followed!

The beautiful pessimism at the heart of Jimmy Buffett's music For Buffett, escapism was not merely some fiddling flight of fancy. It acknowledged the brutalities and indignities of everyday life.

"Half troubadour and half travel agent, Buffett has long been in the business of selling escape."

A professor of philosophy – and lifelong Buffett fan – marvels at how his music was less about pleasure-seeking and “more a reflection of a profoundly pessimistic assessment of the trials of life.”