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Research paper thumbnail of The Ethical Status of Germline Gene Editing in Future Space Missions: The Special Case of Positive Selection on Earth for Future Space Missions

NanoEthics

There are good theoretical rationales for considering germline gene editing (GGE) as a recommende... more There are good theoretical rationales for considering germline gene editing (GGE) as a recommended and perhaps even necessary procedure for future long-term human space missions. This paper examines the arguments for applying GGE in a hypothetical future scenario where future parents living on Earth make decisions about applying GGE to their future children with the goal of allowing them to participate in space missions. The paper presents an ethical rationale for GGE. The paper also recognizes an area of potential moral controversy that is not so much related to the application of GGE itself, but to the risk of different perceptions of well-being by parents and children that may result in the need for genetically modified children to leave Earth against their will.

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Research paper thumbnail of Feminism and gender in thinking about extraterrestrial intelligence

International Journal of Astrobiology

In this paper, we offer an outline of a feminist approach to considering the issue of extraterres... more In this paper, we offer an outline of a feminist approach to considering the issue of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). Dominant ways of discussing ETI, particularly first-contact scenarios and protocols, are characterized by what feminism terms male bias. As with other cultural texts and disciplines, ETI studies can also be enriched by a feminist perspective. In this paper, we propose two possible applications of a feminist approach to considering ETI, such as using feminist categories to analyse our discourse about ETI, as well as understanding ETI in terms of sex and gender. We also propose a vision of ETI as genderless.

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Research paper thumbnail of The final frontier: what is distinctive about the bioethics of space missions? The cases of human enhancement and human reproduction

Monash Bioethics Review

We examine the bioethical issues that arise from long-duration space missions, asking what there ... more We examine the bioethical issues that arise from long-duration space missions, asking what there is that is distinctive about such issues. We pay particular attention to the possibility that such space missions, certainly if they lead to self-sustaining space settlements, may require human enhancement, and examine the significance of reproduction in space for bioethics. We conclude that while space bioethics raises important issues to do with human survival and reproduction in very hazardous environments, it raises no issues that are distinct from those in terrestrial bioethics. Rather, space bioethics raises extreme versions of bioethical issues that are already found in the military, when working in extreme environments (such as Antarctica), or when living in circumstances (such as in prison) where one’s autonomy is severely curtailed.

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Research paper thumbnail of Synthetic Biology for Human Space Missions: Ethical Issues and Practical Applications

Astropolitics

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Research paper thumbnail of The idea of toleration in the doctrine of the Catholic Church : a brief sketch

This article traces a brief history of the idea of toleration inside the doctrine and the practic... more This article traces a brief history of the idea of toleration inside the doctrine and the practice of the Catholic Church. The author stresses that before the Second Vatican Council the idea of toleration was accepted by the Church only conditionally and served to avoid public perturbations. This metaphysical refusal was compatible with interpretations of Thomistic and Neothomistic philosophies, which were based on the doctrine of unique truth and consequently excluded the truthfulness of other religions. The Second Vatican Council accepts the concept of religious freedom, which the author interprets as an ecclesiastical equivalent of the idea of toleration developed inside the European philosophical tradition. Particular emphasis is given to the role played by John Paul II in promoting this change of perspective inside the Church

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Research paper thumbnail of Ethical, Legal and Political Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: Law as a Response to AI-Related Threats and Hopes

World Futures, 2021

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Research paper thumbnail of W cieniu Holocaustu – ewolucja postawy Kościoła katolickiego wobec Żydów i judaizmu

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Research paper thumbnail of Why space exploitation may provide sustainable development: Climate ethics and the human future as a multi-planetary species

Futures, Mar 1, 2023

Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival o... more Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival on Earth. As far as humans are a single-planetary species, our further survival seems to be seriously threatened by these ongoing pressures. In this paper, we discuss ethical issues arising from the possibility of space exploitation and space colonisation as remedies for a forthcoming climate catastrophe. We argue that it would be unwise to presume that in the time span required humans will change their behaviours and/or develop new technologies so that irreversible, harmful climate change on Earth is averted. Space exploration and exploitation are considered as a natural continuation of the human attempt to explore and exploit. We conclude that space colonisation may provide a path to the sustainable development of humanity and that it would be remiss of humans not to explore this possibility seriously.

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Research paper thumbnail of Feminist Bioethics in Space

Oxford University Press, 2024

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Research paper thumbnail of The “staying alive” theory reinforces stereotypes and shows women's lower quality of life

Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Staying alive theory explains why women have more effective self-protective mechanisms in terms o... more Staying alive theory explains why women have more effective self-protective mechanisms in terms of woman's role as a mother and caregiver. This theory reinforces stereotypes and the relationship of oppression and submission to men. Somewhat paradoxically, it also points to women's lower quality of life, which may be explained by their greater fear of threats caused by men's power.

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Research paper thumbnail of Anthropocentric philosophy of John Paul II

This paper analyzes metaphysical base of John Paul II’s philosophy that allowed to propagation of... more This paper analyzes metaphysical base of John Paul II’s philosophy that allowed to propagation of unity’s and ecumenism’s ideas, and to underlying importance of individuality. Developed by The Second Vatican Council “the contemporizing” of Church’s position, required rejection of thomistic, real metaphysics, ontological concept of truth, one religion’s truth or real model of human cognition. This paper underlines acceptance of secularized world’s ideas and their influence on change of Church teaching in John Paul II’s pontificate

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Research paper thumbnail of If extraterrestrial intelligence exists, it is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings

International Journal of Astrobiology

In this paper we consider a scenario in which Carl Sagan's Copernican principle is more likel... more In this paper we consider a scenario in which Carl Sagan's Copernican principle is more likely than its negation. Thus, assuming that the existence of an extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is reasonably likely, the paper considers the possibility of an ETI that is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings. The paper presents the rationale for such an assumption. It also discusses the possible consequences for humanity of such a scenario. In this paper, we argue why the scenario under discussion is actually more positive for humanity than a scenario in which ETI would be capable of recognizing humanity as an intelligent species. We also point to feminist approaches to SETI issues exposing the role played by the specific evolutionary and developmental context of potential ETI.

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Research paper thumbnail of Etyka kolonizatorów Marsa

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Research paper thumbnail of Covid-19 pandemic and future global catastrophic risks as a challenge for health-care ethics

Purpose Current covid-19 pandemic challenges health-care ethics. Ones of the most important chall... more Purpose Current covid-19 pandemic challenges health-care ethics. Ones of the most important challenges are medical resources allocation and a duty to treat, often addressed to medical personnel. This paper suggests that there are good reasons to rethink our health-care ethics for future global catastrophic risks. Current pandemic shows how challenging can be an issue of resources allocation even in a relatively small kind of catastrophic event such as covid-19 pandemic. In this paper, the authors show that any future existential bigger catastrophe may require new guidelines for the allocation of medical resources. The idea of assisted dying is considered as a hypothetical scenario. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual work based on conceptual analysis at the intersection of risk studies, health-care ethics and future studies. This study builds the argument on the assumption that the covid-19 pandemic should be treated as a sort of global catastrophic risk. Findings show ...

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Research paper thumbnail of Ethical Issues in Police Robots. The Case of Crowd Control Robots in a Pandemic

Journal of Applied Security Research, 2021

Progress in automatization and robotization is unavoidable. However, while progress in some field... more Progress in automatization and robotization is unavoidable. However, while progress in some fields is relatively rapid, others including policing seem to be untouched by automatization. This articl...

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Research paper thumbnail of The Acquisition and Function of Religious Beliefs: A Review and Synthesis of Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives

Theology and Science, 2018

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Research paper thumbnail of Sexual selection and religion: Can the evolution of religion be explained in terms of mating strategies?

Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 2020

This article considers the application of sexual selection theory to the study of religion by dis... more This article considers the application of sexual selection theory to the study of religion by discussing the basic concepts and theories in sexual selection and then outlines possibilities of its application to the study of the evolution of religion. The first section outlines basic principles in the sexual selection account, including the evolution of human mating strategies based on dimorphism, gender differences in human mating strategies, and the role of different cultural activities in mating dynamics. Such an overview may be useful for the readers who are less familiar with the basic assumptions of the sexual selection theory. The remaining sections demonstrate how religion may function as a signal for mating qualities associated with a long-term mating strategy and how different facets of religiosity may help to support long-term mating strategies. The key idea of the article is that there are good reasons to try to explain the evolution of at least some of the components of ...

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Research paper thumbnail of The revelation of superintelligence

AI & SOCIETY, 2020

The idea of superintelligence is a source of mainly philosophical and ethical considerations. Tho... more The idea of superintelligence is a source of mainly philosophical and ethical considerations. Those considerations are rooted in the idea that an entity which is more intelligent than humans, may evolve in some point in the future. For obvious reasons, the superintelligence is considered as a kind of existential threat for humanity. In this essay, we discuss two ideas. One of them is the putative nature of future superintelligence which does not necessary need to be harmful for humanity. Our key idea states that the superintelligence does not need to assess its own survival as the highest value. As a kind of intelligence that is not biological, it is not clear what kind of attitude the superintelligent entity may evolve towards living organisms. Our second idea refers to the possible revelation of superintelligence. We assume that the self-revelation of such entity cannot be random. The metaphor of God as a superintelligence is introduced here as a helpful conceptual tool.

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Research paper thumbnail of Why Human Enhancement is Necessary for Successful Human Deep-space Missions

The New Bioethics, 2019

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Research paper thumbnail of Psychological and biological challenges of the Mars mission viewed through the construct of the evolution of fundamental human needs

Acta Astronautica, 2018

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Research paper thumbnail of The Ethical Status of Germline Gene Editing in Future Space Missions: The Special Case of Positive Selection on Earth for Future Space Missions

NanoEthics

There are good theoretical rationales for considering germline gene editing (GGE) as a recommende... more There are good theoretical rationales for considering germline gene editing (GGE) as a recommended and perhaps even necessary procedure for future long-term human space missions. This paper examines the arguments for applying GGE in a hypothetical future scenario where future parents living on Earth make decisions about applying GGE to their future children with the goal of allowing them to participate in space missions. The paper presents an ethical rationale for GGE. The paper also recognizes an area of potential moral controversy that is not so much related to the application of GGE itself, but to the risk of different perceptions of well-being by parents and children that may result in the need for genetically modified children to leave Earth against their will.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Feminism and gender in thinking about extraterrestrial intelligence

International Journal of Astrobiology

In this paper, we offer an outline of a feminist approach to considering the issue of extraterres... more In this paper, we offer an outline of a feminist approach to considering the issue of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). Dominant ways of discussing ETI, particularly first-contact scenarios and protocols, are characterized by what feminism terms male bias. As with other cultural texts and disciplines, ETI studies can also be enriched by a feminist perspective. In this paper, we propose two possible applications of a feminist approach to considering ETI, such as using feminist categories to analyse our discourse about ETI, as well as understanding ETI in terms of sex and gender. We also propose a vision of ETI as genderless.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The final frontier: what is distinctive about the bioethics of space missions? The cases of human enhancement and human reproduction

Monash Bioethics Review

We examine the bioethical issues that arise from long-duration space missions, asking what there ... more We examine the bioethical issues that arise from long-duration space missions, asking what there is that is distinctive about such issues. We pay particular attention to the possibility that such space missions, certainly if they lead to self-sustaining space settlements, may require human enhancement, and examine the significance of reproduction in space for bioethics. We conclude that while space bioethics raises important issues to do with human survival and reproduction in very hazardous environments, it raises no issues that are distinct from those in terrestrial bioethics. Rather, space bioethics raises extreme versions of bioethical issues that are already found in the military, when working in extreme environments (such as Antarctica), or when living in circumstances (such as in prison) where one’s autonomy is severely curtailed.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Synthetic Biology for Human Space Missions: Ethical Issues and Practical Applications

Astropolitics

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Research paper thumbnail of The idea of toleration in the doctrine of the Catholic Church : a brief sketch

This article traces a brief history of the idea of toleration inside the doctrine and the practic... more This article traces a brief history of the idea of toleration inside the doctrine and the practice of the Catholic Church. The author stresses that before the Second Vatican Council the idea of toleration was accepted by the Church only conditionally and served to avoid public perturbations. This metaphysical refusal was compatible with interpretations of Thomistic and Neothomistic philosophies, which were based on the doctrine of unique truth and consequently excluded the truthfulness of other religions. The Second Vatican Council accepts the concept of religious freedom, which the author interprets as an ecclesiastical equivalent of the idea of toleration developed inside the European philosophical tradition. Particular emphasis is given to the role played by John Paul II in promoting this change of perspective inside the Church

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Research paper thumbnail of Ethical, Legal and Political Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: Law as a Response to AI-Related Threats and Hopes

World Futures, 2021

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Research paper thumbnail of W cieniu Holocaustu – ewolucja postawy Kościoła katolickiego wobec Żydów i judaizmu

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Why space exploitation may provide sustainable development: Climate ethics and the human future as a multi-planetary species

Futures, Mar 1, 2023

Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival o... more Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival on Earth. As far as humans are a single-planetary species, our further survival seems to be seriously threatened by these ongoing pressures. In this paper, we discuss ethical issues arising from the possibility of space exploitation and space colonisation as remedies for a forthcoming climate catastrophe. We argue that it would be unwise to presume that in the time span required humans will change their behaviours and/or develop new technologies so that irreversible, harmful climate change on Earth is averted. Space exploration and exploitation are considered as a natural continuation of the human attempt to explore and exploit. We conclude that space colonisation may provide a path to the sustainable development of humanity and that it would be remiss of humans not to explore this possibility seriously.

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Research paper thumbnail of Feminist Bioethics in Space

Oxford University Press, 2024

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Research paper thumbnail of The “staying alive” theory reinforces stereotypes and shows women's lower quality of life

Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Staying alive theory explains why women have more effective self-protective mechanisms in terms o... more Staying alive theory explains why women have more effective self-protective mechanisms in terms of woman's role as a mother and caregiver. This theory reinforces stereotypes and the relationship of oppression and submission to men. Somewhat paradoxically, it also points to women's lower quality of life, which may be explained by their greater fear of threats caused by men's power.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Anthropocentric philosophy of John Paul II

This paper analyzes metaphysical base of John Paul II’s philosophy that allowed to propagation of... more This paper analyzes metaphysical base of John Paul II’s philosophy that allowed to propagation of unity’s and ecumenism’s ideas, and to underlying importance of individuality. Developed by The Second Vatican Council “the contemporizing” of Church’s position, required rejection of thomistic, real metaphysics, ontological concept of truth, one religion’s truth or real model of human cognition. This paper underlines acceptance of secularized world’s ideas and their influence on change of Church teaching in John Paul II’s pontificate

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of If extraterrestrial intelligence exists, it is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings

International Journal of Astrobiology

In this paper we consider a scenario in which Carl Sagan's Copernican principle is more likel... more In this paper we consider a scenario in which Carl Sagan's Copernican principle is more likely than its negation. Thus, assuming that the existence of an extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is reasonably likely, the paper considers the possibility of an ETI that is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings. The paper presents the rationale for such an assumption. It also discusses the possible consequences for humanity of such a scenario. In this paper, we argue why the scenario under discussion is actually more positive for humanity than a scenario in which ETI would be capable of recognizing humanity as an intelligent species. We also point to feminist approaches to SETI issues exposing the role played by the specific evolutionary and developmental context of potential ETI.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Etyka kolonizatorów Marsa

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Covid-19 pandemic and future global catastrophic risks as a challenge for health-care ethics

Purpose Current covid-19 pandemic challenges health-care ethics. Ones of the most important chall... more Purpose Current covid-19 pandemic challenges health-care ethics. Ones of the most important challenges are medical resources allocation and a duty to treat, often addressed to medical personnel. This paper suggests that there are good reasons to rethink our health-care ethics for future global catastrophic risks. Current pandemic shows how challenging can be an issue of resources allocation even in a relatively small kind of catastrophic event such as covid-19 pandemic. In this paper, the authors show that any future existential bigger catastrophe may require new guidelines for the allocation of medical resources. The idea of assisted dying is considered as a hypothetical scenario. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual work based on conceptual analysis at the intersection of risk studies, health-care ethics and future studies. This study builds the argument on the assumption that the covid-19 pandemic should be treated as a sort of global catastrophic risk. Findings show ...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Ethical Issues in Police Robots. The Case of Crowd Control Robots in a Pandemic

Journal of Applied Security Research, 2021

Progress in automatization and robotization is unavoidable. However, while progress in some field... more Progress in automatization and robotization is unavoidable. However, while progress in some fields is relatively rapid, others including policing seem to be untouched by automatization. This articl...

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Research paper thumbnail of The Acquisition and Function of Religious Beliefs: A Review and Synthesis of Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives

Theology and Science, 2018

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Sexual selection and religion: Can the evolution of religion be explained in terms of mating strategies?

Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 2020

This article considers the application of sexual selection theory to the study of religion by dis... more This article considers the application of sexual selection theory to the study of religion by discussing the basic concepts and theories in sexual selection and then outlines possibilities of its application to the study of the evolution of religion. The first section outlines basic principles in the sexual selection account, including the evolution of human mating strategies based on dimorphism, gender differences in human mating strategies, and the role of different cultural activities in mating dynamics. Such an overview may be useful for the readers who are less familiar with the basic assumptions of the sexual selection theory. The remaining sections demonstrate how religion may function as a signal for mating qualities associated with a long-term mating strategy and how different facets of religiosity may help to support long-term mating strategies. The key idea of the article is that there are good reasons to try to explain the evolution of at least some of the components of ...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The revelation of superintelligence

AI & SOCIETY, 2020

The idea of superintelligence is a source of mainly philosophical and ethical considerations. Tho... more The idea of superintelligence is a source of mainly philosophical and ethical considerations. Those considerations are rooted in the idea that an entity which is more intelligent than humans, may evolve in some point in the future. For obvious reasons, the superintelligence is considered as a kind of existential threat for humanity. In this essay, we discuss two ideas. One of them is the putative nature of future superintelligence which does not necessary need to be harmful for humanity. Our key idea states that the superintelligence does not need to assess its own survival as the highest value. As a kind of intelligence that is not biological, it is not clear what kind of attitude the superintelligent entity may evolve towards living organisms. Our second idea refers to the possible revelation of superintelligence. We assume that the self-revelation of such entity cannot be random. The metaphor of God as a superintelligence is introduced here as a helpful conceptual tool.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Why Human Enhancement is Necessary for Successful Human Deep-space Missions

The New Bioethics, 2019

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Psychological and biological challenges of the Mars mission viewed through the construct of the evolution of fundamental human needs

Acta Astronautica, 2018

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Research paper thumbnail of Research Viewpoint: Human Enhancement and Artificial Intelligence for Space Missions

Astropolitics, 2019

This paper discusses key issues concerning robotic space missions and human enhancement for purpo... more This paper discusses key issues concerning robotic space missions and human enhancement for purposes of missions to deep space. Effective robotic exploration, especially to deep space, optimally requires advanced artificial intelligence not currently employed. This posits ethical and social challenges in interactions with humans. It is also argued that exploration of deep space by humans ideally requires physiological enhancement of future astronauts. At the same time, progress in space medicine, countermeasures to space radiation, and artificial gravity also provide solutions for deep space human missions. The paper concludes that deep space mission planners seriously account for both advanced robotic artificial intelligence and human physiological enhancement.

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Research paper thumbnail of Revising Cognitive and Evolutionary Science of Religion. religion as an Adaptation

New Approaches to the Scientific Study of Religion, 2021

This unique and pioneering book critically appraises current work from both the cognitive science... more This unique and pioneering book critically appraises current work from both the cognitive science of religion and the evolutionary study of religion. It addresses the question: Why does the believer possess supernatural or religious beliefs in the combined context of his cognitive biases, their adaptive usefulness measured in terms of survival and reproduction, and the impact of social learning and cultural traits? The authors outlines a pluralistic approach to the study of religion that does not treat religion as an accidental by-product but an adaptation selected by natural selection.

Chapters discuss the role of religious components for the evolution of cooperation and altruism, and explore the development of atheism and secular ideas, in cognitive and evolutionary terms. Topics such as the usefulness of religion, the transmission of religious beliefs, and a Darwinian approach to religion are among those addressed. Contrary to standard views, religious biases are regarded as shaped by cultural influences and not merely by natural dispositions.

This monograph will particularly appeal to researchers who are looking for a scientific explanation of religion and religious beliefs but who do not stop at the level of narrow cognitive and evolutionary accounts. The work will also be of interest to students of philosophy, sociology, religious studies, theology, or anthropology who seek to explain such fascinating, complex, and unequivocal phenomena as religion and religious components.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Bioethics of Space Exploration

Oxford University Press , 2023

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Research paper thumbnail of Why Space Exploitation May Provide Sustainable Development: Climate Ethics and the Human Future as a Multi-Planetary Species

Futures, 2023

Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival o... more Depletion of resources on Earth, super-exploitation and climate change challenge human survival on Earth. As far as humans are a single-planetary species, our further survival seems to be seriously threatened by these ongoing pressures. In this paper, we discuss ethical issues arising from the possibility of space exploitation and space colonisation as remedies for a forthcoming climate catastrophe. We argue that it would be unwise to presume that in the time span required humans will change their behaviours and/or develop new technologies so that irreversible, harmful climate change on Earth is averted. Space exploration and exploitation are considered as a natural continuation of the human attempt to explore and exploit. We conclude that space colonisation may provide a path to the sustainable development of humanity and that it would be remiss of humans not to explore this possibility seriously.

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