Another way to look at whether is extinction is fundamentally bad, is from the viewpoint of some (probably fictional) aliens watching us.<p>Let's say everyone decided end their own lives at the same time. Nobody is unhappy about it.<p>Is there any moral motive for aliens to intervene in a peaceful way? Perhaps discuss humanities possible futures with us. Give people a further interest in the future.<p>I am not asking whether it would be a moral imperative. Just would it be a moral good to convince people they have more happiness worth living for.<p>This plays out in a microcosm when someone sees a homeless person looking to jump off a bridge and intervenes to convince them not to. If they jump, they will die, but they won't feel any more pain - and obviously at the moment they are probably feeling a lot of pain or suicide wouldn't be the option they are seeking.<p>If you can lift a finger to same a person who wants to die, with their own cooperation, or a species, shouldn't you?<p>--<p>Another aspect is, a great deal of our happiness is due to sacrifices of those that came before us. And it mattered a lot to them that they survived and that we survived better.<p>Surely, if we have cooperated at all in taking from our parents, educators, mentors, and those that have worked hard for us, we owe them continued existence at some level. I am not saying that a terminally ill person can't morally choose to end their life.<p>But that happy healthy people should probably take into account that their happiness and healthiness came at a cost and for a reason they will negate if they choose to die out.