1999 roger lo space and ethics, presentation foils

8/14/2019 1999 Roger Lo Space and Ethics, Presentation Foils

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R.E.Lo, Space Generation Forum at UNISPACE III, Vienna, July 21st) 1999Contents

>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development


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R.E.Lo, Space Generation Forum at UNISPACE III, Vienna, July 21st)2

Definitions and varieties of ethics / Space related sample problems

>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development An applied ethical issue must have distinctly moral aspects

Applied ethics is subdivided into convenient groups:

medical ethics business ethics environmental ethics sexual ethics

social ethics engineering ethics space eth ics as a co nglomerate

Normative principles used in applied ethics:

Benefits: personal, social(principles of utilitarian consequencialist theories)Principles: benevolence, paternalism, harm, honesty, lawfulness, autonomy, jus-tice (principles from non-consequencialist duty- andright-based Kant-type theories)Rights: a person's rights to life, information, privacy, free expression and safety.

[The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/a/appliede.htm] 1996


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>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development The Ethics of animal experiments: was Leika justified?> Which animals should we take along, if any?Biocent r ic e th ics : expands the circle of moral considerability to all membersof the class of living things> What attitude towards extraterrestrial life would be appropriate?> In 'biocentric egalitarianism' humans might not be counted as most significant:The preservation of the biosphere and of large ecosystems might be morallypreferable to the preservation of large numbers of humans *)

> Creation of new classes of living things: genetic engineering / cyborgs / AIThe Everyth ing Ethics : the ethics of widest possible scope>If it is organizational complexity per se that makes something morally consider-able, then some natural non-living things will be morally considerable, such asthe solar system or mineral crystals *)> Adopt the Antarctic model for Moon, Mars and the rest of the universe?[*)Philosophy Online: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au]


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>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development robots with or without AI (the HAL problem; the ASIMOV laws of robotics)> planetary surfaces, planets and other celestial bodies (Gaya and Astra?)

Issues of applied ethics must be c o n t r o v e r s i a l a n d m o r a l arguments> A utilitarian question as example: can idealistic and moral rewards make

personal space flight worthwhile (as opposed to automated missions)?

Environmental ethics is by far the most important case in point and covers far

more than just terrestrial atmospheric pollution> e.g. would planetoforming be unethical?> How far should mankind go to the stars?

D o w e n e e d a s p a c e e t h i c s ?W h i c h s p a c e i s s u e s q u a l i f y a s e t h i c a l ?


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R.E.Lo, Space Generation Forum at UNISPACE III, Vienna, July 21st)Long term considerations

>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development Space tourism: in the stage of early preparationNext step of in-situ activities in progress, but open to controversy> ISS: hailed and failed?Space exploration:> wealth of lunar and planetary robotic missions

> interstellar missions: rudiments only> role of humans controversialSpace development> Lunar expedition, outpost, observatory, lab, settlement, colony?> The same for Mars?> extraterrestrial production (Moon, Mars, asteroids): theory only> Power from space (Glaser and others): an unborn child growing old> Light from space (Oberth/Krafft-Ehricke): early experimentsOther> asteroid protection : space flight as Salvator Mundi, after all> Other others (e.g. ONeill / Kardashev settlements):

transition to Science FictionA g a i n : w h i c h s p a c e i s s u e s q u a l i f y a s e t h i c a l ?


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>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development A: it might also do so on an interplanetary scale (the Star Wars problem)

Q: Would Lunar and planetary development destroy the natural environmentof the celestial bodies?> A: they would and we should care! (The conservationist problem)

Q: Would Lunar and planetary development lead, in the long run, to theproblem of Homo Lunaticus?> A: extremely likely, but would that not be great?

(A problem of the ethics of races. LPA: see Total Recall)

Q: Thus: would Lunar and planetary development do us any good?> A: We have to distinguish between Moon and Mars


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>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development Special conditions for lunar industrializationIs just within range of life communication> Telecommunication, telescience, telepresence, teletourism

Is known to posses resources that are extremely valuable there and on Earth> Undiluted sunshine, water, Helium-3

MarsOffers nothing but the beauty of a foreign world> Colonizing Mars is a true issue of applied environmental ethicsIs extremely vulnerable to pollution> Great care was taken to send completely sterile probes. Should we now sendhuman garbage?Is out of reach for direct communication


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>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development + in Earth space refers to LEO uses, such as tourism


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R.E.Lo, Space Generation Forum at UNISPACE III, Vienna, July 21st)Short term consequences

>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development Promotion of automatic probes and robotics> Mars exploration to be based on surface robot probes supported, if necessary,

by telepresence of human crew in orbital Mars Station (possible exceptions:artists for movie production and athletes, e.g. mountaineers, also for movies)

> At the present or any future level of military technology we could not affordrepeating the mistakes made in the past (Star Wars)

Lunar development as UN activity would help developing countries

pass the demographic transition> Takes advantage of visibility and enthusiasm potential of space projects> Provides developing countries with peaceful access to high-tech> Prevents wasteful parallel developments


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R.E.Lo, Space Generation Forum at UNISPACE III, Vienna, July 21st)Summary

>>>> Space Flight is an integrated part of mankinds development

1999 roger lo space and ethics, presentation foils

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