The need of an ethics of planetary sustainability

The concept of sustainability is widely acknowledged as a political guideline. Economic, ecological, social and cultural aspects of sustainability are already under discussion. Current space mining efforts demand that the discussion become a broader one about ‘planetary sustainability’, including th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of astrobiology 2019-06, Vol.18 (3), p.259-266
Main Author: Losch, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cultural factors
Dimensions
Earth
Economics
Environmental ethics
Environmental protection
Initiatives
Moon
Sketches
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Theology
Working groups
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Summary:The concept of sustainability is widely acknowledged as a political guideline. Economic, ecological, social and cultural aspects of sustainability are already under discussion. Current space mining efforts demand that the discussion become a broader one about ‘planetary sustainability’, including the space surrounding Earth. To date, planetary sustainability has mainly been used with reference to Earth only and I will extend it here, elaborating on a similar NASA initiative. This article (1) sketches the contemporary economic–political initiatives which call for a special reflection of Earth's location in space, and then (2) discusses the meaning of the concept of sustainability in this context. Next, (3) I relate the discussion to the issue of planetary and environmental protection, before, (4) finally, presenting a philosophical and theological perspective that seems particularly able to broach the issue of the multiple dimensions of sustainability in this context. This is the concept of constructive-critical realism. My overview of the topic concludes with (5) a summarizing outlook.
ISSN:1473-5504
1475-3006
DOI:10.1017/S1473550417000490