MAR 98-008

Reassessing the Human Condition: Philosophical Aspects of Mars Exploration
Prof. Richard Poss, University of Arizona. rposs@u.arizona.edu

What does our commitment to Mars as the next human frontier do to the classic general arguments for space exploration? This paper outlines seven traditional arguments for space exploration. It examines the strengths and weaknesses in each argument. Then, it analyzes the effect of the commitment to Mars in each.

The function of the commitment to Mars is to focus and clarify these traditional arguments, bringing them down from a theoretical perch to the level of the practical and the doable. The paper will describe several areas in which the cultural imperative to explore is given concrete fulfillment in the commitment to Mars which it did not have before.

Moving beyond the general dedication to exploration to a commitment to the settlement of Mars in particular provides more than a buttress to an old ideology. It is a communal decision which operates at more depths than a mere policy decision. The health of the human community depends on the fulfillment of such a resolution. This paper will approach these depths from the perspective of seven classic arguments for space exploration.