Do Human Beings Deserve Another Planet? Notes on the Space Industry’s Omnipresent Eschatological Enthymeme

Article

“Do Human Beings Deserve Another Planet? Notes on the Space Industry’s Omnipresent Eschatological Enthymeme” by Mary-Jane Rubenstein
Published in Quest Volume: 31 #1 (2024)

Abstract

This article offers a critical examination of an argument common among space enthusiasts: that since we are doomed to extinction on Earth, human beings must colonize outer space. The article first brings to light the argument’s  minor premise, namely, that human beings should not go extinct. It then goes on to analyze the most promising arguments against and for human survival in outer space, concluding that “humanity” only “deserves” another planet on the condition that it inhabit space under a radically different paradigm from profiteering and conquest.

Citation

Rubenstein, Mary-Jane. “Do Human Beings Deserve Another Planet? Notes on the Space Industry’s Omnipresent Eschatological Enthymeme.” Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly 31, no. 1 (2024): 29-36.