A pragmatic approach to the possibility of de-extinction

Biology and Philosophy 33 (1-2):4 (2018)
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Abstract

A number of influential biologists are currently pursuing efforts to restore previously extinct species. But for decades, philosophers of biology have regarded “de-extinction” as conceptually incoherent. Once a species is gone, it is gone forever. We argue that a range of metaphysical, biological, and ethical grounds for opposing de-extinction are at best inconclusive and that a pragmatic stance that allows for its possibility is more appealing.

Author Profiles

Hayley Clatterbuck
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Matthew Slater
Bucknell University

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