Ethics of terraforming
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The ethics of terraforming has constituted a philosophical debate within
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
,
ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
, and
environmental ethics In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resourc ...
as to whether
terraforming Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
other worlds is an
ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
endeavor.


Support

On the pro-terraforming side of the argument, there are those like
Robert Zubrin Robert Zubrin (; born April 9, 1952) is an American aerospace engineer, author, and advocate for human exploration of Mars. He and his colleague at Martin Marietta, David Baker, were the driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal in a 1990 res ...
and Richard L. S. Taylor who believe that it is humanity's moral obligation to make other worlds suitable for Terran life, as a continuation of the history of life transforming the environments around it on
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. They also point out that Earth will eventually be destroyed as nature takes its course, so that humanity faces a very long-term choice between terraforming other worlds or allowing all Earth life to become extinct. Dr. Zubrin further argues that even if native microbes have arisen on Mars, for example, the fact that they have not progressed beyond the microbe stage by this point, halfway through the lifetime of the Sun, is a strong indicator that they never will; and that if microbial life exists on Mars, it is likely related to Earth life through a common origin on one of the two planets, which spread to the other as an example of
panspermia Panspermia () is the hypothesis, first proposed in the 5th century BCE by the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras, that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed by space dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetoids, as well as by spacecraf ...
. Since Mars life would then not be fundamentally unrelated to Earth life, it would not be unique, and competition with such life would not be fundamentally different from competing against microbes on Earth. Zubrin summed up this view: Richard Taylor more succinctly exemplified this point of view with the slogan, "move over microbe". Some human critics label this argument as an example of
anthropocentrism Anthropocentrism (; ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity in the universe. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. F ...
. These critics may view the homocentric view as not only
geocentric In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...
but short-sighted, and tending to favour human interests to the detriment of
ecological systems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
. They argue that an anthropocentrically driven approach could lead to the extinction of indigenous
extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...
, or
interplanetary contamination Interplanetary contamination refers to biological contamination of a planetary body by a space probe or spacecraft, either deliberate or unintentional. There are two types of interplanetary contamination: *''Forward contamination'' is the transfer ...
.
Martyn J. Fogg Martyn J. Fogg (born 3 July 1960) is a British physicist and geologist, an expert on terraforming. Biography After becoming a dental surgeon, Martyn John Fogg graduated in physics and geology and a master in astrophysics. He obtained his M.S ...
rebutted these ideas by delineating four potential rationales on which to evaluate the ethics of terraforming—
anthropocentrism Anthropocentrism (; ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity in the universe. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. F ...
, zoocentrism,
ecocentrism Ecocentrism (; from Greek: οἶκος ''oikos'', "house" and κέντρον ''kentron'', "center") is a term used by environmental philosophers and ecologists to denote a nature-centered, as opposed to human-centered (i.e. anthropocentric), syste ...
, and
preservationism Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
—roughly forming a spectrum from placing the most value on human utility to placing the most value on preserving
nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
. While concluding that arguments for protecting alien biota can be made from any of these standpoints, he also concludes with an argument, similar to Zubrin's, that strict preservationism is "untenable", since "it assumes that human consciousness, creativity, culture and technology stand outside nature, rather than having been a product of natural selection. If ''Homo sapiens'' is the first space faring species to have evolved on Earth, space settlement would not involve acting 'outside nature', but legitimately 'within our nature'."


Criticism

Strong ecocentrists like Richard Sylvan feel there is an intrinsic value to life, and seek to preserve the existence of native lifeforms. This idea is usually referred to as biocentrism. In response to these objections, weak anthropocentrism incorporates biocentric ethics, allowing for various degrees of terraforming.
Christopher McKay Dr Christopher P. McKay (born 1954) is an American planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, studying planetary atmospheres, astrobiology, and terraforming. McKay majored in physics at Florida Atlantic University, where he also studied m ...
strikes a position between these two, what may be termed weak ecocentrism, proposing that an entire biosphere of alien life, even if only microbial life, has far more value than individual microbes, and should not be subject to interference by Earth life. However, he also proposed that it would be valuable and desirable to terraform a planet to nurture the alien life, to allow it to thrive as well as to exhibit a broader range of behavior for scientific study, and that such activity is ultimately justified by the utilitarian value to humans of being able to study and appreciate the still somewhat undisturbed alien life. McKay put his views in these words: Even this "help" would be seen as a type of terraforming to the strictest of ecocentrists, who would say that all life has the right, in its home biosphere, to evolve at its own pace as well as its own direction, free of any outside interference. The impact of the human species on otherwise untouched worlds and the possible interference with or elimination of alien life forms are good reasons to leave these other worlds in their natural states; this is an example of a strong biocentric view, or object-centered ethic. Critics claim this is a form of
anti-humanism In social theory and philosophy, antihumanism or anti-humanism is a theory that is critical of traditional humanism, traditional ideas about humanity and the human condition. Central to antihumanism is the view that philosophical anthropology an ...
and they assert that rocks and bacteria can not have rights, nor should the discovery of alien life prevent terraforming from occurring. Pragmatists argue that humanity on other planets is sociologically impractical. The basis is that being on another planet would not change
human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
, so it would not be long until pollution and destruction by humankind began, and on a planet that has probably only known peace since its formation. Since
life on Earth Life on Earth may refer to: Science * Life * Earliest known life forms * Evolutionary history of life ** Abiogenesis Film and television * ''Life on Earth'' (film) (''La Vie Sur Terre''), a 1998 Malian film * ''Life on Earth'' (TV series), a 197 ...
will ultimately be destroyed by planetary impacts or the
red giant A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses ()) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around or ...
phase of the Sun, all native species will perish if not allowed to move to other objects. Some advocates of animal welfare have pointed out the ethical issues associated with spreading Earth-based wild-animal life by terraforming. In particular, they claim it may be ethically objectionable to bring into existence large numbers of animals that suffer greatly during their often-short lives in the wild. There are also concerns that even with full terraformation, distinct differences between Earth and Mars, such as gravity, lengths of the day and night cycles, and differing/lacking magnetic fields, would cause harm to many introduced species that have evolved for millions of years under Earth conditions. Though some species may survive, and others possibly could be adapted through genetic modification, if the introduced species were isolated on Mars and not frequently interbred with Earth counterparts, the species would eventually evolve through many generations in order to better suit their new environment, possibly leading to different evolutionary lines. Thus, the introduced life may eventually look and act very different from their Earthly counterparts and/or ancestors. Another aspect of terraforming ethics deals with an opposing extreme in this debate. Terraforming could be seen as a potential waste of precious materials, in light of alternative uses. Critics believe that it would constrict the growth potential of humanity by encapsulating the material inside of an astronomical object. Once the surface is terraformed and people have taken residence there, all the interior material is needed to sustain the maximum gravity potential for those inhabitants. If all of the material were utilized to produce space habitation systems, a much greater number of lives would then be supported.


Future prospects

The contrasts between these arguments are fully explored in the field of environmental ethics. Debates often focus on how much time and effort should be expended on investigating the possibility of any microscopic life on a planet before deciding whether to terraform, and what level of sophistication or chances for future development alien life would deserve varying levels of commitment to non-interference. Such debates have been engaged in live, between Zubrin and McKay and others, at various conferences of the
Mars Society The Mars Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates for human Mars exploration and colonization, founded by Robert Zubrin in 1998. It is based on Zubrin's Mars Direct plan, which aims to make human mission to Mars as lightweight and fe ...
, which has made written and video records of the debates available. For example, a written account of some of these debates is available in '' On to Mars: Colonizing a New World'', as a joint article, "Do Indigenous Martian Bacteria have Precedence over Human Exploration?" (pp. 177–182)


Ethics of terraforming in fiction

A fairly thorough non-fictional analysis of the ethics of terraforming is also presented under the guise of the fictional
Mars trilogy The ''Mars'' trilogy is a series of science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost tw ...
by
Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...
, particularly between the characters Ann Clayborne and Sax Russell, with Clayborne epitomizing an ecocentric ethic of non-interference and Russell embodying the anthropocentric belief in the virtue of terraforming. The idea of interplanetary colonization and its ethical implications are also explored by C.S. Lewis in the first book of his Space Trilogy ''
Out of the Silent Planet ''Out of the Silent Planet'' is a science fiction novel by the British author C. S. Lewis, first published in 1938 by John Lane, The Bodley Head. Two sequels were published in 1943 and 1945, completing the ''Space Trilogy''. Plot While on a ...
'' published in 1938. The plot of the 1982 film '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' is based around the use of the so-called "Genesis Device" to create the conditions and organic building-blocks for life on previously lifeless planets. In debating the ethics of the device,
Dr. McCoy Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, known as "Bones", is a character in the American science-fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. McCoy was played by actor DeForest Kelley in the original ''Star Trek'' series from 1966 to 1969, and he also appears in the an ...
,
Spock Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...
and Admiral Kirk reflect on the Device's ability to replace any existing lifeforms with "its new matrix". McCoy describes the ethics of the Device in the following terms: "According to myth, the Earth was created in six days. Now watch out - here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!" The technology is shown to be flawed in the 1984 sequel, '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock''. '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' dealt with terraforming. In the episode "
Home Soil "Home Soil" is the eighteenth episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. It first aired in broadcast syndication on February 22, 1988. Robert Sabaroff, Karl Geurs and Ralph Sanchez developed t ...
", terraformers are causing harm to the native lifeforms on Velara III, with disastrous consequences. In the novel ''
Revelation Space ''Revelation Space'' is a 2000 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It was the first novel (but not first published work of fiction) set in Reynolds's eponymous universe. The novel reflects Reynolds's professional background ...
'' by
Alastair Reynolds Alastair Preston Reynolds (born 13 March 1966) is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle University, where he s ...
, there was a political dispute in the human colony of a fictional planet called Resurgam between a faction who were in support of terraforming the planet and another faction of archeologists who were against terraforming due to the discovery of the remains of an extinct alien civilisation on the planet and due to the fear that any attempt to terraform the planet would destroy the valuable artifacts that still might be buried underground. The ethics of terraforming, as well as deep
space colonization Space colonization (also called space settlement or extraterrestrial colonization) is the use of outer space or celestial bodies other than Earth for permanent habitation or as extraterrestrial territory. The inhabitation and territori ...
, are recurring themes in ''
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'', in which they are compared to the issues of
expansionism Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who of ...
and
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
in the
American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
.


References


Further reading

*Sparrow, Robert. "The Ethics of Terraforming." ''Environmental Ethics'' 21.3 (Fall 1999): 227(1). *Otto, Eric. "Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy and the Leopoldian Land Ethic." ''Utopian Studies'' 14.2 (Spring 2003): 118(19). *Pinson, Robert. "Ethical Considerations for Terraforming Mars," 32 Environmental Law Reporter 11333 (2002). *Schwartz, James. "On the Moral Permissibility of Terraforming." ''Ethics and the Environment'' 18.2 (2013): 1-31. *York, Paul. "The Ethics of Terraforming." ''Philosophy Now: A Magazine of Ideas.'' (Oct/Nov 2002). *Cathcart, R.B., Badescu, V. with Ramesh Radhakrishnan, MACRO-ENGINEERS' DREAMS (23 November 2006), a cost-free downloadable 176-page exposition made available at http://textbookrevolution.org in its engineering selection of textbooks.


See also

*
Suffering risks Suffering risks, known as s-risks for short, are future events with the potential capacity to produce an astronomical amount of suffering. These events may generate more suffering than has ever existed on Earth, in the entirety of its existence. ...
*
Space ethics Space ethics are about the ethical implications of space flight. It involves contemporary issues such as protection of the space environment, particularly space debris mitigation, or the militarization of space. More theoretical issues are the ethic ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terraforming Planetary engineering Ethics of science and technology Environmental ethics Terraforming