Climate Emergency and Different Ways to Fail? The Fermi Paradox, the Simulation Hypothesis, Agency and Hope

ABSTRACT Humanity seems stuck on different ways to fail to meet the challenge posed by a declared climate emergency and manifest problems of ecological breakdown. Rather than reprise these failures, we use the Fermi Paradox and simulation hypothesis to make a simple point about agency. The argument unfolds in two sections. I first introduce the Fermi Paradox and in a series of subsections I explore its different aspects. In the following section and its subsections, I do the same regarding the simulation hypothesis. The guiding question for both is, ‘should we be worried?’ Among other things, I point out that it is unwarranted fatalism to infer from the former (Fermi) that we are doomed or because of the latter (simulation) that nothing matters. At the same time, we are acting as though we are doomed and as if it didn't matter. I conclude with some brief comment on agency and hope.