The reports of expunction are grossly exaggerated: a reply to Robert Klee

Abstract

AbstractRecent paper by Robert Klee in this journal argues that we should endorse a form of cosmic pessimism due to the inevitable destruction of Earth and humanity, allegedly meaning the complete and total annihilation of all traces of humanity's existence (‘human expunction’). It could be shown that both the physical basis and philosophical methodology used by Klee to reach those bleak conclusions are at best premature and at worst unwarranted and misleading. Even worse, they reflect a mindset of unjustified and narrow-minded technological and societal pessimism, which contributes to the erosion of the Enlightenment values, the loss of public interest in space research and colonization, and could indeed increase vulnerability to real – as opposed to uncertain eschatological – global risks humanity is facing in this millennium.