About this Research Topic
The challenges and directions in the philosophy of space exploration for the next 50 years.
The growing interest in human exploration and exploitation of space is not without economical, ethical, and philosophical challenges. Is everything we want to do allowed to be done in space? Are there any limits to our expansion and exploitation of space?
A current space exploitation activity that raises ethical challenges is space tourism - is it moral to invest in space tourism aimed at the wealthiest in light of social exclusion and inequality?
Another issue a little further into the future is the exploitation of space resources and sending astronauts to the Moon and Mars - What is the moral justification for investing in space exploitation and exploration in the context of challenges on Earth (global warming, overpopulation, and others)?
There is also the issue of social justice - won't expansion into space repeat colonialism and the expansion of privileged states and private companies in the West?
What about spacefaring countries vs. other countries - increasing U.S. presence in space may put pressure on other, much poorer countries to invest in the space program for fear of risking being left behind. But by investing in the space program, poor countries are putting resources needed to fight their domestic problems.
Who sets and who is served by how the goals of space expansion and exploitation are determined? Who benefits? Must space policy and the vision for space exploration in the next three decades look like this?
The purpose of this special issue is to reflect on those potential philosophical, economical, and ethical approaches to these and other challenges.
Our research interests include, but are not limited to:
- the methodology of the philosophy of space exploration
- the ethical challenges of space exploration
- the economical challenges of space exploration
- the short- and long-term perspectives on space exploitation and exploration
- space tourism issues
The growing interest in human exploration and exploitation of space is not without economical, ethical, and philosophical challenges. Is everything we want to do allowed to be done in space? Are there any limits to our expansion and exploitation of space?
A current space exploitation activity that raises ethical challenges is space tourism - is it moral to invest in space tourism aimed at the wealthiest in light of social exclusion and inequality?
Another issue a little further into the future is the exploitation of space resources and sending astronauts to the Moon and Mars - What is the moral justification for investing in space exploitation and exploration in the context of challenges on Earth (global warming, overpopulation, and others)?
There is also the issue of social justice - won't expansion into space repeat colonialism and the expansion of privileged states and private companies in the West?
What about spacefaring countries vs. other countries - increasing U.S. presence in space may put pressure on other, much poorer countries to invest in the space program for fear of risking being left behind. But by investing in the space program, poor countries are putting resources needed to fight their domestic problems.
Who sets and who is served by how the goals of space expansion and exploitation are determined? Who benefits? Must space policy and the vision for space exploration in the next three decades look like this?
The purpose of this special issue is to reflect on those potential philosophical, economical, and ethical approaches to these and other challenges.
Our research interests include, but are not limited to:
- the methodology of the philosophy of space exploration
- the ethical challenges of space exploration
- the economical challenges of space exploration
- the short- and long-term perspectives on space exploitation and exploration
- space tourism issues
Keywords: space economy, Space philosophy, Space ethics, Space tourism, Bioethics
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