Bringing Life to the Stars

This book attempts to provide an ethical foundation with which to address the question, Should we spread life beyond Earth? It examines the material conditions of the solar system, the limits of consciousness, the limits of society and long term possibilities of sending human life out into the universe. The author is concerned with our moral right to do so; he delineates the ethical criteria and justifications of space travel for the purpose of human expansion. He also gives special attention to a utilitarianist explanation which concludes that if life did spread throughout the solar system, or even the galaxy, then this would serve to increase sentient life and hence be a positive event.