Kelly C. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190915650
- eISBN:
- 9780197506066
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190915650.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This chapter assesses the ethical justification for attempting to message extraterrestrial intelligence (METI). Most of the discussion within the space community concerning METI has been about the ...
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This chapter assesses the ethical justification for attempting to message extraterrestrial intelligence (METI). Most of the discussion within the space community concerning METI has been about the level of risk it poses. Addressing the empirical dimensions of METI risk is a useful exercise, to be sure, but it is often unappreciated that these details just do not resolve key questions. In particular, if one looks at METI through an ethical lens, the central question is not what the level of risk is but whether those who are exposed to that risk agree to it. Rather than simply allowing anyone with access to the necessary resources do whatever they wish, people need to involve public policy, social science, humanities, and other fields of expertise to develop explicit best practices and then work to enshrine these in soft law.Less
This chapter assesses the ethical justification for attempting to message extraterrestrial intelligence (METI). Most of the discussion within the space community concerning METI has been about the level of risk it poses. Addressing the empirical dimensions of METI risk is a useful exercise, to be sure, but it is often unappreciated that these details just do not resolve key questions. In particular, if one looks at METI through an ethical lens, the central question is not what the level of risk is but whether those who are exposed to that risk agree to it. Rather than simply allowing anyone with access to the necessary resources do whatever they wish, people need to involve public policy, social science, humanities, and other fields of expertise to develop explicit best practices and then work to enshrine these in soft law.
Kelly Smith and Carlos Mariscal
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190915650
- eISBN:
- 9780197506066
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190915650.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the exploration of astrobiology. While new, astrobiology's recent success has been nothing short of amazing. In just the past 25 years, scientists ...
More
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the exploration of astrobiology. While new, astrobiology's recent success has been nothing short of amazing. In just the past 25 years, scientists have learned that the building blocks of life are found basically everywhere in the universe; that getting these building blocks to engage in the kinds of complex chemistry people associate with life is far easier than people used to think; and that planets where life could potentially evolve are extremely common. Nevertheless, scientists from a variety of fields are just beginning to address the many questions raised by the real possibility of life on other planets. Relatively little research on the broader social and conceptual aspects of astrobiology has been undertaken by scholars outside the small community of space scientists. However, a fertile field awaits early adopters from other disciplines, with many profound and largely unexplored questions waiting to be addressed by relevant experts. Some of these research questions fall squarely within traditional humanities, while others span the boundary between empirical science and other fields.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the exploration of astrobiology. While new, astrobiology's recent success has been nothing short of amazing. In just the past 25 years, scientists have learned that the building blocks of life are found basically everywhere in the universe; that getting these building blocks to engage in the kinds of complex chemistry people associate with life is far easier than people used to think; and that planets where life could potentially evolve are extremely common. Nevertheless, scientists from a variety of fields are just beginning to address the many questions raised by the real possibility of life on other planets. Relatively little research on the broader social and conceptual aspects of astrobiology has been undertaken by scholars outside the small community of space scientists. However, a fertile field awaits early adopters from other disciplines, with many profound and largely unexplored questions waiting to be addressed by relevant experts. Some of these research questions fall squarely within traditional humanities, while others span the boundary between empirical science and other fields.
