Philosophy and ethics of de-extinction

In this essay, we explore the philosophical and ethical issues concerning de-extinction. First, we will characterize what de-extinction is. This requires clarification of the process of extinction. Second, we consider whether de-extinction is even possible. There are a variety of arguments involving...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inCambridge Prisms: Extinction Vol. 1; p. e7
Main Author Odenbaugh, Jay
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Cambridge University Press 2023
Subjects
Ancient DNA
Biodiversity conservation
Conservation
Deextinction
Ethics and policy
Overview Review
Species Extinction
Ancient DNA
Biodiversity conservation
Ethics and policy
Conservation
Deextinction
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Abstract In this essay, we explore the philosophical and ethical issues concerning de-extinction. First, we will characterize what de-extinction is. This requires clarification of the process of extinction. Second, we consider whether de-extinction is even possible. There are a variety of arguments involving the nature of species that purport to show that once they have disappeared they cannot be resurrected. Third, we examine whether de-extinction is morally permissible. There are arguments that suggest we are obligated to do it based on restorative justice and biodiversity conservation. There are other arguments that conclude we are not permitted to do so based on considerations of animal welfare, hubris and the allocation of conservation resources.
AbstractList In this essay, we explore the philosophical and ethical issues concerning de-extinction. First, we will characterize what de-extinction is. This requires clarification of the process of extinction. Second, we consider whether de-extinction is even possible. There are a variety of arguments involving the nature of species that purport to show that once they have disappeared they cannot be resurrected. Third, we examine whether de-extinction is morally permissible. There are arguments that suggest we are obligated to do it based on restorative justice and biodiversity conservation. There are other arguments that conclude we are not permitted to do so based on considerations of animal welfare, hubris and the allocation of conservation resources.
In this essay, we explore the philosophical and ethical issues concerning de-extinction. First, we will characterize what de-extinction is. This requires clarification of the process of extinction. Second, we consider whether de-extinction is even possible. There are a variety of arguments involving the nature of species that purport to show that once they have disappeared they cannot be resurrected. Third, we examine whether de-extinction is morally permissible. There are arguments that suggest we are obligated to do it based on restorative justice and biodiversity conservation. There are other arguments that conclude we are not permitted to do so based on considerations of animal welfare, hubris and the allocation of conservation resources.In this essay, we explore the philosophical and ethical issues concerning de-extinction. First, we will characterize what de-extinction is. This requires clarification of the process of extinction. Second, we consider whether de-extinction is even possible. There are a variety of arguments involving the nature of species that purport to show that once they have disappeared they cannot be resurrected. Third, we examine whether de-extinction is morally permissible. There are arguments that suggest we are obligated to do it based on restorative justice and biodiversity conservation. There are other arguments that conclude we are not permitted to do so based on considerations of animal welfare, hubris and the allocation of conservation resources.
ArticleNumber e7
Author Odenbaugh, Jay
AuthorAffiliation Department of Philosophy, Lewis & Clark College , Portland , OR , USA
AuthorAffiliation_xml – name: Department of Philosophy, Lewis & Clark College , Portland , OR , USA
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Jay
  orcidid: 0000-0001-6536-8031
  surname: Odenbaugh
  fullname: Odenbaugh, Jay
BackLink https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40078674$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed
BookMark eNptkV1rFDEUhoNUbK298QfIXokIs558J1cixY9CQS_0OmSSk27K7GSdzBb77824tbTiVULy5HnDe56To7GMSMhLCmsKVL_DX_OaAeNr8YScMC1lB1aaowf7Y3JW6zUAMGMpF-IZORYA2igtTsjrb5s8lFp2m9uVH-MK500OdVXSKmLX3HkMcy7jC_I0-aHi2d16Sn58-vj9_Et3-fXzxfmHyy5wxURnjbbY8yQFQ5C95pqB0JGnXsgExvcyBGtVoMAwgQ9CSUgqUZBaG9MHfkouDt5Y_LXbTXnrp1tXfHZ_Dsp05fw05zCgM5hib7wSS3K0YDC0JOZ5jMpq0zfX-4Nrt--3GAOO8-SHR9LHN2PeuKty4yg1VmoJzfDmzjCVn3uss9vmGnAY_IhlXx2nWinTWtUNffUw7D7lb9MNeHsAwlRqnTDdIxTcMknX2nbLJN0Cwz9wyLNfBtE-mof_PfkNA8efaw
CitedBy_id crossref_primary_10_1038_s44358_025_00020_5
Cites_doi 10.1007/s13347-016-0244-0
10.1007/s10539-016-9534-2
10.1186/s13059-015-0790-2
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071554
10.1086/508027
10.3390/genes9110548
10.1007/s10539-018-9639-x
10.1007/BF00127698
10.1080/21550085.2018.1448043
10.1057/9781137337641_5
10.4324/9780203129197
10.1073/pnas.1118386109
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071552
10.1017/9781108919012
10.1038/nbt1001-962
10.1111/1365-2435.12728
10.1111/1365-2435.12705
10.1525/9780520941106
10.1007/s10539-018-9616-4
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071556
10.1007/s13347-015-0208-9
10.1038/s41559-016-0053
10.1038/nature02890
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071551
10.1080/21550085.2017.1291831
10.1007/s10539-018-9615-5
10.1038/509261a
10.1111/j.1475-4975.1993.tb00274.x
10.1007/978-3-319-69578-5
10.1098/rspb.2012.1745
10.1126/science.1236965
10.1126/science.1113442
10.1186/2195-7819-10-3
10.1111/1365-2435.12720
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071557
10.1371/journal.pgen.1003345
10.1007/s11569-014-0201-2
10.1080/21550085.2017.1291827
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071550
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071555
10.1007/s10806-018-9755-2
10.1126/science.288.5464.275
10.1525/bio.2012.62.8.6
10.1126/sciadv.aay5483
10.1046/j.1526-100X.1997.09702.x
10.1007/s10806-020-09839-8
10.1038/s41559-017-0105
10.1111/cobi.12198
10.5840/enviroethics199113437
10.1080/21550085.2022.2071553
10.1017/CBO9780511498459
10.1086/288811
10.1017/CBO9781139151221
10.1017/S0033822200014703
ContentType Journal Article
Copyright The Author(s) 2023.
The Author(s) 2023 2023 The Author(s)
Copyright_xml – notice: The Author(s) 2023.
– notice: The Author(s) 2023 2023 The Author(s)
DBID AAYXX
CITATION
NPM
7X8
5PM
DOA
DOI 10.1017/ext.2023.4
DatabaseName CrossRef
PubMed
MEDLINE - Academic
PubMed Central (Full Participant titles)
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
DatabaseTitle CrossRef
PubMed
MEDLINE - Academic
DatabaseTitleList PubMed

MEDLINE - Academic

CrossRef
Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: DOA
  name: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  url: https://www.doaj.org/
  sourceTypes: Open Website
– sequence: 2
  dbid: NPM
  name: PubMed
  url: https://proxy.k.utb.cz/login?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
  sourceTypes: Index Database
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
EISSN 2755-0958
ExternalDocumentID oai_doaj_org_article_8efdb8a643624d908ec7d32a3dd6978b
PMC11895750
40078674
10_1017_ext_2023_4
Genre Journal Article
Review
GroupedDBID 0R~
AAWEA
AAYXX
ABDBF
ABGDZ
ABXHF
ACAJB
ACDLN
AFKRZ
AHRGI
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
CITATION
GROUPED_DOAJ
IKXGN
IPYYG
RCA
ROL
RPM
NPM
7X8
5PM
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c3624-9879eb3f542e05b7372047d3fb45f08ab5cc996c102ef0ac4650f6f1057788bc3
IEDL.DBID DOA
ISSN 2755-0958
IngestDate Wed Aug 27 01:30:45 EDT 2025
Thu Aug 21 18:34:39 EDT 2025
Fri Jul 11 01:30:49 EDT 2025
Sat Mar 15 01:20:58 EDT 2025
Tue Jul 01 03:40:57 EDT 2025
Thu Apr 24 23:01:08 EDT 2025
IsDoiOpenAccess true
IsOpenAccess true
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Keywords Ancient DNA
Biodiversity conservation
Ethics and policy
Conservation
Deextinction
Language English
License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Author(s) 2023.
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c3624-9879eb3f542e05b7372047d3fb45f08ab5cc996c102ef0ac4650f6f1057788bc3
Notes ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ORCID 0000-0001-6536-8031
OpenAccessLink https://doaj.org/article/8efdb8a643624d908ec7d32a3dd6978b
PMID 40078674
PQID 3176688917
PQPubID 23479
ParticipantIDs doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_8efdb8a643624d908ec7d32a3dd6978b
pubmedcentral_primary_oai_pubmedcentral_nih_gov_11895750
proquest_miscellaneous_3176688917
pubmed_primary_40078674
crossref_primary_10_1017_ext_2023_4
crossref_citationtrail_10_1017_ext_2023_4
ProviderPackageCode CITATION
AAYXX
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2023-00-00
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2023-01-01
PublicationDate_xml – year: 2023
  text: 2023-00-00
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationPlace England
PublicationPlace_xml – name: England
– name: Cambridge, UK
PublicationTitle Cambridge Prisms: Extinction
PublicationTitleAlternate Camb Prism Extinct
PublicationYear 2023
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Publisher_xml – name: Cambridge University Press
References S2755095823000049_r15
S2755095823000049_r59
S2755095823000049_r14
S2755095823000049_r58
Martin (S2755095823000049_r33) 2005
S2755095823000049_r17
S2755095823000049_r16
S2755095823000049_r19
S2755095823000049_r18
Allaby (S2755095823000049_r2) 1992
S2755095823000049_r60
S2755095823000049_r62
S2755095823000049_r61
S2755095823000049_r20
S2755095823000049_r63
S2755095823000049_r22
S2755095823000049_r21
S2755095823000049_r24
S2755095823000049_r23
S2755095823000049_r9
S2755095823000049_r25
S2755095823000049_r28
S2755095823000049_r27
S2755095823000049_r29
S2755095823000049_r6
S2755095823000049_r7
Boyd (S2755095823000049_r5) 1988
S2755095823000049_r3
S2755095823000049_r4
Akbar (S2755095823000049_r1) 2020; 34
Minteer (S2755095823000049_r36) 2019
Richerson (S2755095823000049_r42) 2008
S2755095823000049_r30
S2755095823000049_r32
S2755095823000049_r35
Butler (S2755095823000049_r8) 2014
S2755095823000049_r34
S2755095823000049_r37
S2755095823000049_r39
S2755095823000049_r38
Leopold (S2755095823000049_r31) 1949
S2755095823000049_r40
S2755095823000049_r41
S2755095823000049_r44
S2755095823000049_r43
S2755095823000049_r46
S2755095823000049_r45
S2755095823000049_r48
S2755095823000049_r47
S2755095823000049_r49
Shapiro (S2755095823000049_r51) 2015
Katz (S2755095823000049_r26) 1997
S2755095823000049_r50
S2755095823000049_r53
S2755095823000049_r52
S2755095823000049_r11
S2755095823000049_r55
S2755095823000049_r54
S2755095823000049_r10
S2755095823000049_r13
S2755095823000049_r57
S2755095823000049_r56
S2755095823000049_r12
References_xml – ident: S2755095823000049_r55
  doi: 10.1007/s13347-016-0244-0
– ident: S2755095823000049_r10
  doi: 10.1007/s10539-016-9534-2
– ident: S2755095823000049_r38
  doi: 10.1186/s13059-015-0790-2
– ident: S2755095823000049_r49
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071554
– ident: S2755095823000049_r24
  doi: 10.1086/508027
– ident: S2755095823000049_r37
  doi: 10.3390/genes9110548
– ident: S2755095823000049_r17
  doi: 10.1007/s10539-018-9639-x
– ident: S2755095823000049_r62
  doi: 10.1007/BF00127698
– ident: S2755095823000049_r44
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2018.1448043
– ident: S2755095823000049_r54
  doi: 10.1057/9781137337641_5
– ident: S2755095823000049_r63
  doi: 10.4324/9780203129197
– volume-title: Culture and the Evolutionary Process
  year: 1988
  ident: S2755095823000049_r5
– ident: S2755095823000049_r61
  doi: 10.1073/pnas.1118386109
– ident: S2755095823000049_r7
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071552
– ident: S2755095823000049_r20
  doi: 10.1017/9781108919012
– volume-title: A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There
  year: 1949
  ident: S2755095823000049_r31
– ident: S2755095823000049_r32
  doi: 10.1038/nbt1001-962
– volume-title: Nature as Subject: Human Obligation and Natural Community
  year: 1997
  ident: S2755095823000049_r26
– ident: S2755095823000049_r34
  doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12728
– ident: S2755095823000049_r52
  doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12705
– volume-title: Twilight of the Mammoths: Ice Age Extinctions and the Rewilding of America
  year: 2005
  ident: S2755095823000049_r33
  doi: 10.1525/9780520941106
– ident: S2755095823000049_r39
  doi: 10.1007/s10539-018-9616-4
– ident: S2755095823000049_r40
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071556
– ident: S2755095823000049_r23
  doi: 10.1007/s13347-015-0208-9
– ident: S2755095823000049_r4
  doi: 10.1038/s41559-016-0053
– ident: S2755095823000049_r57
  doi: 10.1038/nature02890
– ident: S2755095823000049_r41
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071551
– ident: S2755095823000049_r25
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2017.1291831
– volume-title: How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction
  year: 2015
  ident: S2755095823000049_r51
– ident: S2755095823000049_r56
  doi: 10.1007/s10539-018-9615-5
– ident: S2755095823000049_r35
  doi: 10.1038/509261a
– volume: 34
  start-page: 13
  year: 2020
  ident: S2755095823000049_r1
  article-title: Missing for 170 years—The rediscovery of Black-browed Babbler Malacocincla perspicillata on Borneo
  publication-title: BirdingASIA
– ident: S2755095823000049_r28
  doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4975.1993.tb00274.x
– ident: S2755095823000049_r12
  doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-69578-5
– ident: S2755095823000049_r3
  doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1745
– ident: S2755095823000049_r53
  doi: 10.1126/science.1236965
– ident: S2755095823000049_r60
  doi: 10.1126/science.1113442
– ident: S2755095823000049_r14
  doi: 10.1186/2195-7819-10-3
– ident: S2755095823000049_r22
  doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12720
– ident: S2755095823000049_r58
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071557
– ident: S2755095823000049_r9
  doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003345
– ident: S2755095823000049_r13
  doi: 10.1007/s11569-014-0201-2
– ident: S2755095823000049_r15
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2017.1291827
– ident: S2755095823000049_r27
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071550
– volume-title: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany
  year: 1992
  ident: S2755095823000049_r2
– ident: S2755095823000049_r11
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071555
– ident: S2755095823000049_r6
  doi: 10.1007/s10806-018-9755-2
– ident: S2755095823000049_r45
  doi: 10.1126/science.288.5464.275
– ident: S2755095823000049_r50
  doi: 10.1525/bio.2012.62.8.6
– ident: S2755095823000049_r43
  doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay5483
– ident: S2755095823000049_r18
  doi: 10.1046/j.1526-100X.1997.09702.x
– ident: S2755095823000049_r29
  doi: 10.1007/s10806-020-09839-8
– volume-title: Paradise Saved: The Remarkable Story of New Zealand’s Wildlife Sanctuaries and How They Are Stemming the Tide of Extinction
  year: 2014
  ident: S2755095823000049_r8
– ident: S2755095823000049_r48
  doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0105
– ident: S2755095823000049_r47
  doi: 10.1111/cobi.12198
– ident: S2755095823000049_r19
  doi: 10.5840/enviroethics199113437
– ident: S2755095823000049_r30
  doi: 10.1080/21550085.2022.2071553
– volume-title: The Fall of the Wild: Extinction, De-Extinction, and the Ethics of Conservation
  year: 2019
  ident: S2755095823000049_r36
– ident: S2755095823000049_r16
  doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511498459
– ident: S2755095823000049_r21
  doi: 10.1086/288811
– volume-title: Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution
  year: 2008
  ident: S2755095823000049_r42
– ident: S2755095823000049_r46
  doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139151221
– ident: S2755095823000049_r59
  doi: 10.1017/S0033822200014703
SSID ssj0002891344
Score 2.2723331
SecondaryResourceType review_article
Snippet In this essay, we explore the philosophical and ethical issues concerning de-extinction. First, we will characterize what de-extinction is. This requires...
SourceID doaj
pubmedcentral
proquest
pubmed
crossref
SourceType Open Website
Open Access Repository
Aggregation Database
Index Database
Enrichment Source
StartPage e7
SubjectTerms Ancient DNA
Biodiversity conservation
Conservation
Deextinction
Ethics and policy
Overview Review
Species Extinction
Title Philosophy and ethics of de-extinction
URI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40078674
https://www.proquest.com/docview/3176688917
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PMC11895750
https://doaj.org/article/8efdb8a643624d908ec7d32a3dd6978b
Volume 1
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
link http://utb.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV1LS8QwEA6yJy-i-KqPpaIIHup2mzRNjyoui6B4cGFvIU9cka7o7sF_7yRpl1YWvHhtA53MFzLzpZP5ELooM6Uw0yQRxgBBySxLhCxMAotLaMxErvwt_scnOp6Qh2k-bUl9uZqw0B44OG7AjNWSCQicNCO6TJlRhcaZwFpTYEDS7b4Q81pk6i38PhtiQpp-pMNi4CrjnVT4NelEIN-of112-btIshV1Rttoq04X45tg5g7aMNUuunxu9Ae-Y1Hp2Pia9XhuY20SsGBW-csKe2gyun-5Gye13kGi3OQSoP8lcFubk8ykuQwCMjBZK0luUyZkrhTQEwU5gbGpUASyK0utU-oFIisV3ke9al6ZQxSXlGVGMbedpQTbTBKdMqUp1RIgyFmErhofcFU3A3eaFO88VH0VHKzlzl-cROh8NfYjtMBYO-rWuXI1wrWt9g8ATF6Dyf8CM0JnDRAclrn7dyEqM19-cewaWTJAtYjQQQBm9Skn7c5oASawDmQdW7pvqtmrb6UN9KqEhDU9-g_rj9Gm80U4oDlBvcXn0pxCyrKQfb86-_4s6Qe1Qev8
linkProvider Directory of Open Access Journals
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Philosophy+and+ethics+of+de-extinction&rft.jtitle=Cambridge+Prisms%3A+Extinction&rft.au=Odenbaugh%2C+Jay&rft.date=2023&rft.issn=2755-0958&rft.eissn=2755-0958&rft.volume=1&rft.spage=e7&rft_id=info:doi/10.1017%2Fext.2023.4&rft.externalDBID=NO_FULL_TEXT
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=2755-0958&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=2755-0958&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=2755-0958&client=summon