(July 10, 2015 at 10:17 pm)whateverist Wrote: Beyond the fact that the world hasn't quite been depleted by us, that isn't the only reason to wish for many less human beings. There are other creatures on this planet and they are running out of habitat and food at an alarming rate. Turning this planet into a monoculture of humans, and organisms which nurture humans is an ugly choice. Humans as virus. Less would be so much more appealing.
Yes, that is true, but not what the poll is about. For my part, I would be much happier if the population were 1 billion or less. But that is a mere wish. What I expect to happen is that we will drive many more species to extinction than we already have, and will make the world more like a monoculture of humans than it is at present. (And also more like a toilet or garbage dump.) And, it is possible that in doing so, we will mess up something that matters for us, as we are dependent upon many other things in order to survive. But other species, per se, are not the subject of this thread, though I freely admit that we will not survive without some other species also surviving. But, again, as you say, there are more issues than just whether or not people survive without many of them starving to death, as the quality of life is affected by the amount of nature that is left more or less intact.
Here is an article that might interest you:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morni...ans-fault/
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
