TERRAFORM THE GALAXY
Reason magazine|December 2022
SEVERAL INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHERS and environmentalist thinkers argue that terraforming Mars and other planets, making them suitable for humans and other Earth life, would be immoral. As we near a day when terraforming is actually possible, the arguments against it are worth reviewing and rebutting.
RONALD BAILEY
TERRAFORM THE GALAXY

“Trying to change whole planets to suit our ends is arrogant vandalism,” Monash University philosopher Robert Sparrow asserts in a 1999 essay, saying the desire to do so reflects aesthetic insensitivity and hubris.” Sparrow maintains that we must show that we are capable of looking after our current home before we could claim to have any place on another.”

In a special 2019 issue of the academic journal Futures, neuroscientist Lori Marino likewise claims that our species is not capable of living on any planet sustainably.” Another contributor to that issue of the journal, University of Texas anthropologist John Traphagan, agrees. We are not capable of enacting a successful colonization of another planet,” he writes. The fact that we have destroyed our home planet is prima facie evidence of this assertion.”

Saint Paul College philosopher Ian Stoner, who contributed a chapter to the 2021 book Terraforming Mars, argues that doing so would violate a duty to conserve objects of special scientific value, a duty to preserve special wilderness areas, and a duty not to display vices characteristic of past colonial endeavors on Earth.” He therefore concludes that terraforming Mars is probably morally wrong.”

What should we make of people who oppose terraforming? In his contribution to the Futures special issue, Clemson University philosopher Kelly Smith, a terraforming advocate, tartly notes that his opponents think humanity deserves” to perish until and unless humans can demonstrate an ability to live in harmony with our environment.” He describes that position as eco-nihilism.”

Bu hikaye Reason magazine dergisinin December 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Reason magazine dergisinin December 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

REASON MAGAZINE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Gimme Shelter  - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?
Reason magazine

Gimme Shelter - The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

The U.S. confronts a growing homelessness problem. Does Miami have the answer?

time-read
10+ dak  |
July 2024
AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs
Reason magazine

AI Is Coming for Hollywood's Jobs

But so is everyone else.

time-read
10+ dak  |
June 2024
AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate
Reason magazine

AI Can Do Paperwork Doctors Hate

With help from AI, doctors can focus on patients.

time-read
4 dak  |
June 2024
Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI
Reason magazine

Antitrust May Smother the Power of AI

Left alone, AI could actually help small firms compete with tech giants.

time-read
3 dak  |
June 2024
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Reason magazine

A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars

THE FIRST PAR AGR APH of the book jacket lays it out: “There is a common belief that we live in unprecedented times, that people are too sensitive today, that nobody objected to the actions of actors, comedians, and filmmakers in the past.

time-read
5 dak  |
July 2024
FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT
Reason magazine

FAMILIES NEED A VIBE SHIFT

THE AUTHORS OF FOUR NEW BOOKSWITH 24 KIDS BETWEEN THEM-SAY THE AMERICAN FAMILY NEEDS A COURSE CORRECTION.

time-read
10+ dak  |
July 2024
"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'
Reason magazine

"The Past Is There To Teach Us What Can Happen'

Hardcore History's Dan Carlin on hero worship and moral assumptions in the study of the past

time-read
10+ dak  |
July 2024
Cutting Off Israel
Reason magazine

Cutting Off Israel

ENDING U.S. AID WOULD GIVE WASHINGTON LESS LEVERAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THAT’S WHY IT’S WORTH DOING.

time-read
10+ dak  |
July 2024
WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?
Reason magazine

WHAT CAUSED THE D.C.CRIME WAVE?

GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT, NOT SENTENCING REFORM OR SPARSE SOCIAL SPENDING, DESERVES THE BLAME.

time-read
10+ dak  |
July 2024
States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform
Reason magazine

States Turn Their Backs on Criminal Justice Reform

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to avoid the “strange bedfellows” cliché when reading about the criminal justice reform movement in the 2010s.

time-read
5 dak  |
July 2024