Humans Should Not Colonize Mars

Overview

• Publication: Journal of the American Philosophical Association (2017)
• Focus: Two arguments against Mars colonization on moral grounds
  • Constrains on invasive/destructive scientific techniques
  • Appropriate human behavior in wilderness

Preliminary Considerations

• Shift in Space Ethics: Move from theory-based to pretheoretic beliefs
• Scientific Curiosity: Only surviving justification for Mars exploration

Arguments Against Colonization

The Method Appropriate to the Question

• Applied Ethics
  • Theory-centered vs. practical-controversy-centered
  • Practical-controversy: Direct argument from pretheoretic beliefs
  • Theory-centered: Derive conclusions from general theories
• Space Ethics
  • Past work mostly theory-centered
  • Contributions of theory-centered: theory construction and testing
  • Practical ethics: Need for rebalance towards practical-controversy mode

Reasons to Colonize Mars and Counterarguments

1. Exploit Natural Resources

• Argument: Earth’s resources finite, exploit Mars’ resources
• Counter: Asteroids are more economically viable for resources than Mars

2. Fulfill Pioneering Nature

• Argument: Human nature to pioneer and expand
• Counter: Not all human drives are noble; expansionary drive may not be justified

3. Opportunities for Experiments in Living

• Argument: New societal structures on Mars
• Counter: Earth has unexplored isolated regions for such experiments

4. Backup Planet

• Argument: Mars as insurance against Earth catastrophes
• Counter: Planetary defense more viable; Mars offers limited protection

5. Scientific Questions

• Argument: Answers to Mars-specific scientific questions
• Counter: Scientific value supports study, not colonization

Moral Principles Against Colonization

Principle of Scientific Conservation

• Definition: Limits on destructive/significantly invasive scientific investigation
• Conditions: Permissible if it does not threaten values and no alternatives exist
• Violation Examples: Prometheus tree, Mona Lisa, mummy unwrapping
• Mars Colonization: Violates this principle due to Earth life contamination risk

Tread Lightly Principle

• Definition: Obligation to minimize human impact in wilderness
• Cases: Littering in wilderness, modifying natural formations
• Application to Mars: Colonization would irrevocably alter Mars

Discussion and Conclusion

• Planetary Protection: COSPAR’s policy, moral implications
• Future Considerations: Engage with principles of conservation and tread lightly
• Concluding Remarks: Both principles suggest moral wrongness of colonization

References

• Extensive citation of works related to space ethics and Mars exploration.