PHILOSOPHY OF FUTURE
The values that underlie our next step
The mission of LFI centres on accelerating life's evolutionary leap to the cosmos, an enabler of a near limitless future for life, and a crucial countermeasure against the existential perils inherent with planetary confinement and technological advancement. Yet, this monumental step in itself holds its own unknown existential threats and repercussions well beyond our comprehension. Despite the urgency, we must not act recklessly.
Our path into the cosmos raises profound philosophical dilemmas across morals, ethics, politics, metaphysics, and epistemology. The choices we make, or fail to make, over the ensuing decades and centuries will be difficult to reverse; they will imprint indelibly on our cosmic trajectory.
Space Resource Exploitation: The ethical considerations of extracting resources from celestial bodies, including potential conflicts over ownership and distribution.
Space Settlement Governance: How to establish fair and effective governance structures for off-world communities.
Non-human Stakeholders in Space: The moral status and consideration of non-human entities, such as advanced AI, robots, or potential extra-terrestrial life forms, in the context of space exploration and colonisation.
Human Enhancement for Space: The ethical implications of using technology to modify the human body or mind to better adapt to the challenges of space.
Interstellar Ethics: Moral considerations related to interstellar travel and the potential colonisation of other star systems.
Cosmic Pessimism and Optimism: The potential existential risks and benefits of expanding humanity's presence beyond Earth.
Anthropocentrism and the Cosmos: The limitations of anthropocentric perspectives in the context of space exploration and colonisation.
Distributive Justice in Space: Ensuring equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of space activities among different social groups and nations.
Space Environmental Ethics: The ethical obligations to preserve and protect the space environment, including the mitigation of space debris.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence: The ethical considerations related to the use of AI in space exploration and settlement.
The Future of Human Identity: How living in space and interacting with other celestial bodies may change our conception of what it means to be human.
The Cosmic Commons: The philosophical implications of treating space as a shared resource for all of humanity.
Long-term Decision Making: The ethical challenges of making decisions that will have impacts far into the future, including the potential consequences of human actions on other celestial bodies.
The Potential for Space Utopias or Dystopias: The ethical implications of creating new societies in space, including the potential for both utopian and dystopian outcomes.
Astrobiology and the Nature of Life: Philosophical questions about the nature and origins of life, particularly in light of the possibility of discovering extra-terrestrial life forms.
The Value of Space Exploration: The intrinsic and instrumental value of exploring and understanding the cosmos.
Space and Human Flourishing: The impact of space exploration and settlement on human well-being and the meaning of life.
The Ethics of Terraforming: The moral implications of altering celestial bodies to make them more habitable for humans and other Earth life.
Planetary Protection: Balancing the desire for exploration and colonisation with the need to protect potentially habitable environments and preserve any native life forms.