The Extinction and De-Extinction of Species

Siipi, Helena; Finkelman, Leonard

doi:10.1007/s13347-016-0244-0

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…The concern is that it is physically or conceptually impossible. 12 On some views of what species are, they contend it is not possible (and possible on others) (Siipi and Finkelman 2017;Finkelman 2018). Let us consider one of the strongest arguments for this claim.…”

Section: Is De-extinction Possible?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophy and ethics of de-extinction

Odenbaugh

2023

Camb. prisms Extinction

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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 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 other arguments that conclude we are not permitted to do so based on considerations of animal welfare, hubris, and the allocation of conservation resources. Impact StatementDe-extinction is a conceptually and ethically challenging topic. Through careful philosophical reflection, we can recognize it is a logically coherent course of action, though it is not always ethically advisable. Sometimes it is morally impermissible. AcknowledgementsMy thanks to Hank Greeley for putting together conference in May 2013 entitled "Deextinction: Ethics, Law & Politics" at Stanford University. There were many different participants including Stewart Brand and Beth Shapiro. There were also other philosophers including Hilary Bok and Ronald Sandler. I learned a great deal from the experience, and it forms the background of this essay. Additionally, I thank the two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments.

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Section: Is De-extinction Possible?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophy and ethics of de-extinction

Odenbaugh

2023

Camb. prisms Extinction

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“…Normatively, de‐extinction is considered in three broad forms of bringing aspects of extinct biota back: cloning, back‐breeding, and genetic engineering (Corlett, 2017; Fletcher, 2020; Jørgensen, 2013; Preston, 2017; Seddon, Griffiths et al, 2014; Seddon & King, 2019; Seddon, Moehrenschlager, & Ewen, 2014; Sherkow & Greely, 2013; Thiele, 2020). These techniques rely on the creation of organisms that resemble extinct biota; whether these animals are authentic proxies for absent ecologies is a matter of intense philosophical and scientific debate (Campbell, 2017; Novak, 2018; Siipi, 2014; Siipi & Finkelman, 2017). Rather, considering more‐than‐human agencies as challenges to the firm binary between extinct and extant sheds light on the liminal space between the binary: “de/extinction” (Searle, 2020).…”

Section: In the Footsteps Of Ghostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral ecologies: De/extinction in the Pyrenees

Searle

2021

Trans Inst British Geog

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How is extinction problematised through biotechnological and ecological interventions, and how might such mediations elucidate different understandings of biotic loss and recovery? The bucardo – an endemic ibex from the Pyrenees – is the only extinct animal to have ever been cloned, and for seven short minutes in 2003, “extinction was not forever.” Using the bucardo’s extinction as a starting point, rather than an ending, this paper addresses the “spectral ecologies” of the Pyrenees. Drawing on interviews and extensive ethnographic work conducted in Spain and France, I discuss the implications of this cloning project, and examine the various ways in which it is contested. Speculative futures of bucardo clones “returning” to the Pyrenees seem unlikely, however, following the successful introductions of another subspecies of ibex to the French Pyrenees in 2014. Such events – following the mobilities and geographies of the ibex themselves – invalidate justifications for cloning in conservation. Spectral ecologies are characterised through the unsettling of – and departures from – linear temporalities. I broaden the ontological scope of species resurrection to attend to phenotypic shifts associated with ecological restoration projects, which I call “de/extinction.” De/extinction unsettles a range of epistemological assumptions concerning two of conservation’s key concepts: species and extinction. Introduced ibex in the Pyrenees are beginning to resemble the defining features of bucardo with every new generation, a fascinating reworking of the bucardo’s absence. The figure of the ghost brings to the fore multiple pasts and futures, human and nonhuman, materialising and affecting bodies in spectral ecologies. This case offers a theoretical advance to the field of extinction studies and cultural geographies in considering different meanings of “the end,” and the imagined futures of “lost” biota.

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“…In light of biotechnology, is the Bucardo extinct or simply functionally extinct like the Northern White Rhinoceros? The cloning of a Bucardo is proof that individuals could be recovered with biotechnologically-assisted reproduction, which under Siipi and Finkelman’s consideration of extinction would mean that the Bucardo is not extinct, or “non-extinct” in their terminology [ 17 ]. Are the Bucardo and the Northern White Rhinoceros different variations or degrees of extinction and endangerment, or similar cases?…”

Section: Biotechnology Changes the Concept Of Extinctionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And, even more complicated a question, what is extinction? The conservation community prefers to have these concepts well defined and well understood but in truth, they have always been hugely complex biological and philosophical concepts [ 17 , 18 ]. The accepted definitions of species and extinction are key factors shaping conservation paradigms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

De-Extinction

Maillard

2018

Genes

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De-extinction projects for species such as the woolly mammoth and passenger pigeon have greatly stimulated public and scientific interest, producing a large body of literature and much debate. To date, there has been little consistency in descriptions of de-extinction technologies and purposes. In 2016, a special committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published a set of guidelines for de-extinction practice, establishing the first detailed description of de-extinction; yet incoherencies in published literature persist. There are even several problems with the IUCN definition. Here I present a comprehensive definition of de-extinction practice and rationale that expounds and reconciles the biological and ecological inconsistencies in the IUCN definition. This new definition brings together the practices of reintroduction and ecological replacement with de-extinction efforts that employ breeding strategies to recover unique extinct phenotypes into a single “de-extinction” discipline. An accurate understanding of de-extinction and biotechnology segregates the restoration of certain species into a new classification of endangerment, removing them from the purview of de-extinction and into the arena of species’ recovery. I term these species as “evolutionarily torpid species”; a term to apply to species falsely considered extinct, which in fact persist in the form of cryopreserved tissues and cultured cells. For the first time in published literature, all currently active de-extinction breeding programs are reviewed and their progress presented. Lastly, I review and scrutinize various topics pertaining to de-extinction in light of the growing body of peer-reviewed literature published since de-extinction breeding programs gained public attention in 2013.

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The Extinction and De-Extinction of Species

Cited by 14 publications

References 34 publications

Philosophy and ethics of de-extinction

Philosophy and ethics of de-extinction

Spectral ecologies: De/extinction in the Pyrenees

De-Extinction

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