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A review by mtimpe
Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space by Erika Nesvold
5.0
Off-Earth is a thought-provoking introduction to some of the ethical conundrums that humans will likely be forced to confront in the (relatively) near future of space travel and off-world settlement.
Despite the academic complexity and nuance of the topics covered in the book—not to mention the politically-charged nature of many of the issues (e.g., reproductive rights)—the author’s writing is both accessible and open-minded. Indeed, Nesvold makes an effort to explicitly acknowledge where her background or personal preferences (political or otherwise) may have biased the presentation of a particular topic.
This book is a welcome addition to the nascent but growing corpus of literature on the ethics of space exploration. Moreover, it is also a much-needed counterweight to the bulk of writing on space which tends to emphasize the (admittedly cool) aspects of space travel while wantonly disregarding the darker aspects of its own behavior that humanity might unwittingly take with itself into space.
Despite the academic complexity and nuance of the topics covered in the book—not to mention the politically-charged nature of many of the issues (e.g., reproductive rights)—the author’s writing is both accessible and open-minded. Indeed, Nesvold makes an effort to explicitly acknowledge where her background or personal preferences (political or otherwise) may have biased the presentation of a particular topic.
This book is a welcome addition to the nascent but growing corpus of literature on the ethics of space exploration. Moreover, it is also a much-needed counterweight to the bulk of writing on space which tends to emphasize the (admittedly cool) aspects of space travel while wantonly disregarding the darker aspects of its own behavior that humanity might unwittingly take with itself into space.