Abstract
This article will explore a problem which is related to our moral obligations towards species. Although the re-creation of extinct animals has been discussed to some degree both in lay deliberations as well as by scientists, advocates tend to emphasize the technological and scientific value of such an endeavour, and the “coolness” factor (Sherkow and Greely Science, 340(6128), 32–33, 2013). This article will provide an argument in favour of re-creation based on normative considerations. The environmentalist community generally accepts that it is wrong to exterminate species, for reasons beyond any instrumental value these species may have. It is often also claimed that humanity has a collective responsibility to either preserve or at least to not exterminate species. These two beliefs are here assumed to be correct. The argument presented here departs from and places these two ideas in a deontological framework, from which it is argued that when humanity causes the extinction of a species, this is a moral transgression, entailing a residual obligation. Such an obligation implies a positive duty to mitigate any harm caused by our moral failure. In light of recent scientific progress in the field of genetic engineering, it will be argued that humanity has a prima facie obligation to re-create species whose extinction mankind may have caused, also known as de-extinction.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attfield, R. (2005). In defense of environmental ethics. Environmental Ethics, 27(3), 335–336.
Benirschke, K. (1984). The frozen zoo concept. Zoo Biology, 3(4), 325–328. doi:10.1002/zoo.1430030405.
Bradley, B. (2001). The value of endangered species. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 35(1), 43–58. doi:10.1023/A:1010383322591.
Díaz, S., Fargione, J., Stuart Chapin, F., III, & Tilman, D. (2006). Biodiversity loss threatens human well-being. PLoS Biology, 4(8), e277. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040277.
Elliot, R. (1982). Faking nature. Inquiry, 25(1), 81–93.
Elliot, R. (1994). Extinction, restoration, naturalness. Environmental Ethics: An Interdisciplinary Journal Dedicated to the Philosophical Aspects of Environmental Problems, 16, 135–144.
Ereshefsky, M. (2014). Species. Accessed 4 Feb. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/species/.
Folch, J., Cocero, M. J., Chesné, P., Alabart, J. L., Domínguez, V., Cognié, Y., Roche, A., et al. (2009). First birth of an animal from an extinct subspecies (Capra Pyrenaica Pyrenaica) by Cloning. Theriogenology, 71(6), 1026–1034. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2008.11.005.
Fuller, E. (2001). Extinct birds (1st ed.). Ithaca: Comstock Pub. Assoc/Cornell University Press.
Ghiselin, M. T. (1974). A radical solution to the species problem. Systematic Zoology, 23, 536–544.
Gunn, A. S. (1991). The restoration of species and natural environments. Environmental Ethics, 13(4), 291–310.
Hansson, S. O., & Peterson, M. (2001). Rights, risks, and residual obligations. Risk, Decision and Policy, 6(03), 157–166.
Honig, F. (1954). The reparations agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany. The American Journal of International Law, 48(4), 564. doi:10.2307/2195023.
Katz, E. (1996). The problem of ecological restoration. Environmental Ethics, 18(2), 222–224.
Kumar, S. (2012). Extinction need not be forever. Nature, 492(7427), 9. doi:10.1038/492009a.
Lanza, R. P., Cibelli, J. B., Diaz, F., Moraes, C. T., Farin, P. W., Farin, C. E., Hammer, C. J., West, M. D., & Damiani, P. (2000). Cloning of an endangered species (Bos Gaurus) using interspecies nuclear transfer. Cloning, 2(2), 79–90. doi:10.1089/152045500436104.
Larsen, P. A., Marchán-Rivadeneira, M. R., & Baker, R. J. (2010). Natural hybridization generates mammalian lineage with species characteristics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(25), 11447–11452. doi:10.1073/pnas.1000133107.
Loi, P., Ptak, G., Barboni, B., Fulka, J., Cappai, P., & Clinton, M. (2001). Genetic rescue of an endangered mammal by cross-species nuclear transfer using post-mortem somatic cells. Nature Biotechnology, 19(10), 962–964. doi:10.1038/nbt1001-962.
Loi, P., Wakayama, T., Saragustry, J., Fulka, J., Jr., & Ptak, G. (2011). Review biological time machines: a realistic approach for cloning an extinct mammal. Endangered Species Research, 14(3), 227–233. doi:10.3354/esr00366.
Miller, W., Drautz, D. I., Ratan, A., Pusey, B., Qi, J., Lesk, A. M., Tomsho, L. P., et al. (2008). Sequencing the nuclear genome of the extinct woolly mammoth. Nature, 456(7220), 387–390. doi:10.1038/nature07446.
Norton, B. G. (1984). Environmental ethics and weak anthropocentrism. Environmental Ethics, 6(2), 131–148.
Norton, B. G. (1986). Conservation and preservation. Environmental Ethics, 8(3), 195–220.
Parfit, D. (1986). Reasons and persons. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pask, A. J., Behringer, R. R., & Renfree, M. B. (2008). Resurrection of DNA function in vivo from an extinct genome. PLoS ONE, 3(5), e2240. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002240.
Piña-Aguilar, R. E., Lopez-Saucedo, J., Sheffield, R., Ruiz-Galaz, L. I., de Barroso-Padilla, J. J., & Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, A. (2009). Revival of extinct species using nuclear transfer: hope for the mammoth, true for the Pyrenean Ibex, but is it time for ‘Conservation cloning’? Cloning and Stem Cells, 11(3), 341–346. doi:10.1089/clo.2009.0026.
Ramathal, C., Durruthy-Durruthy, J., Sukhwani, M., Arakaki, J. E., Turek, P. J., Orwig, K. E., & Reijo Pera, R. A. (2014). Fate of iPSCs derived from azoospermic and fertile men following xenotransplantation to murine seminiferous tubules. Cell Reports, 7(4), 1284–1297. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2014.03.067.
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Stuart Chapin, F., Lambin, E. F., Lenton, T. M., et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461(7263), 472–475. doi:10.1038/461472a.
Rolston, H. (1985). Duties to endangered species. BioScience, 35(11), 718–726. doi:10.2307/1310053.
Sandel, M. J. (2009). Justice: What’s the right thing to do?. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Sandler, R. (2010). The value of species and the ethical foundations of assisted colonization. Conservation Biology, 24(2), 424–431. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01351.x.
Sandler, R. (2014). The ethics of reviving long extinct species. Conservation Biology, 28(2), 354–360. doi:10.1111/cobi.12198.
Sherkow, J. S., & Greely, H. T. (2013). What if extinction is not forever?”. Science, 340(6128), 32–33. doi:10.1126/science.1236965.
Sterelny, K., & Griffiths, P.E. (1999). Sex and death: An introduction to philosophy of biology. University of Chicago Press.
Taylor, P. W. (1981). The ethics of respect for nature. Environmental Ethics, 3(3), 197–218.
Wong, K. (2013). Can a mammoth carcass really preserve flowing blood and possibly live cells? Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2013.13103.
Zettler, E. R., Mincer, T. J., & Amaral-Zettler, L. A. (2013). Life in the ‘Plastisphere’: microbial communities on plastic marine debris. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(13), 7137–7146. doi:10.1021/es401288x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jebari, K. Should Extinction Be Forever?. Philos. Technol. 29, 211–222 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-015-0208-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-015-0208-9