Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Moral Standing
Milan M. Cirkovic, Ana Katic
International Journal of Astrobiology
Summary
Philosophical analysis of whether extraterrestrial intelligences would qualify for moral consideration under standard ethical frameworks. Examines multiple ethical traditions and their implications for contact scenarios, first contact protocols, and the ethical obligations of humanity toward NHI if confirmed. Foundational contact-ethics paper.
Abstract
We consider the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) activities from a bioethical standpoint. In particular, we argue that there is a moral duty to search for other intelligent beings in the Universe. Some of them could - and are likely to be - morally enhanced in the sense that they are not only capable of unmistakable moral reasoning but are also capable of consistently acting upon the results of such deliberations. Even if the probability of finding such morally superior beings is small, it is higher than zero in any case; in fact, our astrobiological knowledge suggests that this probability is significant. Hence, there are both deductive and inductive arguments for the proposition that our duty is to search for such morally superior extraterrestrial beings. In other words, there is a duty to undertake and support our SETI efforts. The argument to that effect runs parallel to some of the arguments deployed in current debates on human moral enhancement.
Citation
Milan M. Cirkovic, Ana Katic. (2022). International Journal of Astrobiology. DOI: 10.1017/S1473550421000380
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