The Philosophy of Outer Space
Explorations, Controversies, Speculations
- 220 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Philosophy of Outer Space
Explorations, Controversies, Speculations
About this book
This volume provides a rigorous philosophical investigation of the rationales, challenges, and promises of the coming Space Age.
Over the past decade, space exploration has made significant and accelerating progress, and its potential has attracted growing attention from science, states, businesses, innovators, as well as the media and society more generally. Yet philosophical theorizing concerning the premises, values, meanings, and impacts of space exploration is still in its infancy, and this potentially immense field of study is far from mainstream yet. This book advances outer space philosophy by integrating key scientific and societal debates sparked by recent developments in space research and activities with conceptual, existential, ethical, aesthetic, and political themes and concerns. It maps various regions of philosophical exploration, reflection, and speculation regarding humanity's present and future emanations into outer space, to promote a broad, rich, and nuanced societal debate regarding this transformative enterprise, which is as stimulating as it can be disorienting.
This book will be a fascinating read for academics, researchers, and students interested in philosophy, space studies, science and technology studies, future studies, and sustainability.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Endorsements
- Half Title
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- 1. Outer Space and Humanity: History, Concepts, and Themes of a New Philosophical Frontier
- 2. A Memorial with No Observers: Carl Sagan’s Golden Record
- 3. Earth and the Ontology of Planets
- 4. Signs of Life: The Epistemology of Indirect Sensing
- 5. Alien Ways of Knowing and Being: Speculations from the Lives of Earthly Non-Human Animals
- 6. Thought Experiments and the (Fictional) Exploration of Outer Space
- 7. Conspiracy Theories about Space: Are They Epistemically Special?
- 8. Sustainability and Humanity’s Future in Space: A Conceptual Exploration
- 9. “Improving” Outer Space
- 10. Unearthing Global Justice: From Space to Inter-Planetary Ethics
- 11. Space Adaptation: How Life Can Be Shaped by Space Travel
- 12. The Ethical Considerations of Pantropy in the Colonization of Mars
- 13. Faking Biosphere
- 14. In Space There Is No Status Quo: Space Communities as Social Experimentation Regarding Reproduction and Kinship
- 15. Longtermism, Space Colonization, and Human Consciousness
- Index