
The Argument Against Terraforming Mars - dnetesn
http://cosmos.nautil.us/short/85/the-argument-against-terraforming-mars
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brownbat
The article provides basically two counterarguments to terraforming Mars,
derived from a foundation of Aristotle's virtue ethics.

Argument one: terraforming Mars would destroy its beauty.

Argument two: terraforming Mars would demonstrate hubris.

Let's break these out.

Argument One

P1) Terraforming Mars would destroy its beauty.

P2) One should not destroy beauty.

C) Therefore, we should not terraform Mars.

P1 is loaded with some questionable assumptions. Namely, that a terraformed
Mars would not be beautiful. Or that shifting a thing from one type of beauty
to another creates a loss that is incommensurate with any benefit from that
shift.

I personally find technology very beautiful. So when people attack wind farms
as "ruining" the landscape, I just scratch my head, because I find them awe
inspiring, like a cathedral.

We all know there's no accounting for taste. So we should be wary of someone
claiming aesthetic appeal to hijack an argument. Anyone can say they find what
another person is doing "ugly" to claim they should stop. That goes both ways.
I can claim that argument style is ugly, because it creates an irrebuttable
nuclear option that sabotages coherent debate. So if you stand by the
principle of avoiding things just because one person claims they're ugly, then
avoid that argument. If you don't stand by that principle, then don't argue
ethics derived from your personal aesthetics.

The second argument is about hubris.

The problem with hubris though is there is a fine line between trying
something hard out of ego, and trying something hard because you want to
strive for something better. There's an element of hubris in all major human
endeavors. It's hubristic to try to eliminate malaria. It was hubristic to go
to the moon in the first place. There's no way to sort bold worthy projects
from bold unworthy ones.

In defense of the hubris argument, it is important to admit the limits of our
knowledge, and the high possibility of failure. Maybe a lighter gravity and
lack of a magnetic sphere will lead to bizarre results from any attempt to
terraform the planet, and likely not leave it any more habitable.

That's exactly why we should try to find out. We have a planet that is n of 1
right now, it's the limits of our knowledge that would inspire us to learn
more from Mars. Terraforming Mars is driven not by our ego, but by our
insecurities.

