Moral challenges of going to Mars under the presence of non-intelligent life scenario

Much is discussed what would be the ideal position in terms of our ethical treatment with respect to other forms of life, particularly those that can be discovered in other worlds, in addition to our role in terms of the expansion of terrestrial life in the universe. This represents a great philosophical challenge, but what if we should make a moral decision in the face of the inevitable situation of being forced to colonize, for example, Mars? Is there a position in which we can feel safe to act legitimately? This paper tries to force us into a mental and conceptual exercise about what can really be worth beyond the concept or the positions we may have and analyse them in light of the practicality that decision making requires in this problem

Astrobioethics

Astrobiology is a discipline that is expanding its field of investigation not only in the natural sciences, but also in the social sciences. It is for this reason that the ethical aspects are progressively emphasized leading to a point where the whole field requires a specific handling. The appellation ‘astrobioethics’ is now considered as not only relevant, but also a true issue for the future of Astrobiology. Astrobioethics is the subsection within astrobiology that is accountable for studying the moral implications of, for example, bringing humans to Mars, the Planetary Protection Policy, the social responsibility of the astrobiologist to society, etc. It is in this way that the present article outlines a path for astrobioethics, as being a fertile field of study and an opportunity to trade scientific knowledge in a transdisciplinary way

Astrobioethics: Epistemological, Astrotheological, and Interplanetary Issues

The themes that arise as we enter the philosophical discussion on astrobiology are many and diverse. Of all these, ethics is presented as a rather complex one. Therefore, astrobioethics is the branch of philosophy and astrobiology that is responsible for studying the moral implications of the search for life in space. In this chapter I will analyze three fundamental aspects: epistemological, astrotheological, and interplanetary issues. Each has its own field of discussion and questions that need to be addressed, so that our new small step for mankind does not end up crushing the life we find in the universe

Disciplinary Challenges of Today Science

Actualmente estamos presenciando una serie de eventos que, más que problemas aislados o separados, están realmente interconectados, son complejos, con un contenido de variables que exceden el objeto de estudio de una sola disciplina científica o académica. Hablamos, por ejemplo, del problema ambiental, la salud pública e incluso la astrobiología (estudio de la vida en el universo). ¿Qué tienen en común estos y otros escenarios más que pueden llamar la atención sobre un nuevo enfoque para tratar problemas complejos? Antes que nada, debemos tener en cuenta que la ciencia es una herramienta; como tal, requiere que la filosofía sea capaz de comprenderse a sí misma. Por lo tanto, palabras como el paradigma o la falsificación de la ciencia, si bien es cierto que nos ayudan a comprender el proceso y la evolución del conocimiento científico, no son definiciones estrictas que surgen del método científicoWe are currently witnessing a series of events that, more than isolated or separate problems are actually interconnected, complex, with a content of variables that exceed the object of study of a single scientific or academic discipline. We talk about, for example, the environmental problem, the public health, and even astrobiology (study of life in the universe). What do these and other more scenarios have in common that can draw attention to a new approach of dealing with complex problems? First of all, we must bear in mind that science is a tool; as such it requires philosophy to be able to understand itself. Hence, words such as paradigm or falsification of science, although it is true they help us to understand the process and evolution of scientific knowledge, are not strictly definitions that come out of the scientific method, but rather it is philosophical terminology

Astrobiology and its influence on the renewal of the way we see the world from the teloempathic, educational and astrotheological perspective

There is a record of the positive effects of astrobiological research for the natural sciences and eventually for their technological use on Earth. However, on the philosophical effects, this is not as visible as the other sciences, which is why it can be assumed that it is a waste of time speculating on astrobioethics or also on the philosophy of astrobiology. This is the reason why this work seeks to identify and sustain the philosophical utility of astrobioethics. To achieve this, this article focuses on three essential aspects: teloempathy, education and astrotheology. Russell’s argument about the value of philosophy will be used as a fundamental basis for the usefulness of astrobioethics

Astrobioethics: a brief discussion from the epistemological, religious and societal dimension

As astrobiology progresses in its quest to discover life on other planets or to put ourselves in another one, so does its moral problematic. Astrobiology is not only part of natural sciences, but also deals with direct aspects of humanities. For this reason, this paper aims to briefly examine astrobioethics from the epistemological, religious and societal dimension. It also deals with different researches in this regard, in order to better understand the state of the art on this topic and that astrobioethics can help us not only on how we should relate with extraterrestrial lifeforms, but even with terrestrials

Mars: A free planet?

We are witnessing the enormous breakthroughs of space technology, which will eventually allow us to reach Mars. However, it seems that the technological evolution is expanding at a faster rate than the moral development. Are we ethically ready to take human beings to Mars? Will it be a private company the first one that manages to take us there? Should we colonize Mars or leave it like it is right now? Are astrobiological interests being contemplated when discussing human presence in Mars? These are some of the questions that we must answer since the moment of stepping on Mars does not seem to be far away. Therefore, the objective of this article is to evaluate the idea of Mars being a free planet from any of Earth's governments, and to analyse the idea of colonizing Mars considering that by doing that we could seriously endanger native life. What it proposed is that its unavoidable that we will reach Mars, however, we may not be prepared as humanity and this is something that we must face

Multi-, inter- y transdisciplinariedad en la ciencia

Publicación a texto completo no autorizada por el autorEvalúa las definiciones de multi, inter y transdisciplinariedad en la ciencia y examina los fundamentos filosóficos para la multidisciplinariedad e interdisciplinariedad.Tesi

Conceptual discussion around the notion of the human being as an inter and multiplanetary species

The current advances in our exploration of Mars have made us think of the human species as a multiplanetary species. However, we have certain challenges before we can truly consider ourselves such a species, especially moral ones. Therefore, astrobioethics would be the right one to examine what it takes to consider ourselves a multiplanetary species. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the meaning and significance of being an inter- and multiplanetary species. To achieve this, a philosophical and critical analysis will be made, using as input aspects of biology, ethics and moral community. We conclude that to be a truly multiplanetary species, more than the technological aspects that allow us to reach other planets, a change at different levels will be needed