The Extraterrestrial Environment – an Axiological Perspective

Through human exploration the extraterrestrial space becomes more and more the subject of an anthropological debate. The purpose of this article is to connect axiological thinking with the ethics of human activities related to space exploration. In this context, when debating upon the ability of natural objects to possess value, the distinction between the source of value and the object of value or the “locus†of value is essential. If we deliberate strictly in favour of the valorising subject, the exterior nature is always in danger of losing its intrinsic value. Only to the extent that natural objects are values in themselves, regardless if any human subject is valorising them, the so-called naturalistic fallacy in locating value, the confusion between its source and object can be prevented from the start. These difficulties can be surmounted by stating that all value, human and nonhuman is ontologically located within the natural world. The existence of a plurality of irreducible values makes it possible for judgements of value to be justified independently of the appeal to human preferences. The concept of intrinsic value can be directly attributed to entities belonging to extraterrestrial nature only provided we accept that intrinsic values can be both concrete and plural. Seen through the prism of an objectivist meta-ethics, extraterrestrial space can be described as a new environment where values subsist without any reference to human valorisation/experimentation, awaiting their exploration and discovery.