The Morality/Ethics of "Generation Ships"

well thats a tough question that boils down to personal view.
Cant really see that its morally/ethically right or morally/ethically wrong,its ultimatley for the advancement and survival of the human species and that makes it right in my eyes-sure children being born on board a ship like this have limited choices to make as regards their personal future but they also have more choices than any other children on planet earth (should they arrive at a planet capable of sustaining human life)
Being born into a semi-pre choosen roll could be quite a strain on a human beings health-for certain during teenage years,children in space would be not really different than children on earth-they still rebel,they still want things they cant have and they still protest to knowing more than their tutors but in time they would fit into their rolls and get on with the task in hand-sure theres going to be disputes over leadership and the dos n donts of ship life but with carefull selection and constent understanding of the gravity of a mission like this the future would really open up for these people.
Im an adventurer to the core,but many of my freinds are not-i wouldnt push my children into anything they didnt wish to do and with the post of the topic being moral/ethical then thats the only bit i find wrong-these un-born future generations have some choices already taken away by others.

good post,regards

by the time this will happen we will have technology that will allow us the travel so fast we won't need those generation ships

Esoterica

My point was how much choice does a child born in say the Sudan or Somalia or some other hell hole have? What are the odds on a poor child from there going to school, becoming a doctor or something. What are his chances to advance? Is it morally right to have a child under those conditions?

If you are born in some countries sure you have a Broad range of choices but in other countries you have almost none.

Do you think the starving, hunted Sudanese child would change places with the well fed, well educated cleaner of toilets on the Mother ship?

I bet he would

Originally posted by Amuk
Esoterica

My point was how much choice does a child born in say the Sudan or Somalia or some other hell hole have? What are the odds on a poor child from there going to school, becoming a doctor or something. What are his chances to advance? Is it morally right to have a child under those conditions?

If you are born in some countries sure you have a Broad range of choices but in other countries you have almost none.

Do you think the starving, hunted Sudanese child would change places with the well fed, well educated cleaner of toilets on the Mother ship?

I bet he would

Sorry 'bout the slow reply.

You are correct in that a person on a generation ship would likely have a higher quality of life than a third-world nation's people. However, our prisons do, too. You get three squares a day, education, TV, recreation. The only trade-off is that you have to spend all your time within the confines of the prison, and deal with the dangers of that. That doesn't mean that sticking someone into prison or a work camp is ethical.

I know it's a bit extreme, but it's all I could come up with right now. I gotta go to sleep soon

Originally posted by Amuk
Esoterica

My point was how much choice does a child born in say the Sudan or Somalia or some other hell hole have? What are the odds on a poor child from there going to school, becoming a doctor or something. What are his chances to advance? Is it morally right to have a child under those conditions?

If you are born in some countries sure you have a Broad range of choices but in other countries you have almost none.

Do you think the starving, hunted Sudanese child would change places with the well fed, well educated cleaner of toilets on the Mother ship?

I bet he would

This is where my thinking comes from. I assume that if a generation ship is chosen, humanity is probably at the point where we are at risk of going extinct. In this situation, they are in their position out of need. They in all likely would have plenty of food, all of the knowladge of the human race, all on board a giant space ship that is self sustaining, probably carying most of the important if not all of the plants or animals of earth.

Their are pictures and books for them to understad what happened and to read about the homeworld.

Basically, compared to a lot of people on this earth, they would have it fairly good.

this would be a good idea for an epic science fiction book, or does it allready exist? i am a sf-geek but have never heard of a journey of a generationship in epic form? any suggestions would be welcome.

my thoughts about the moral issues:

1)better live as a spacevoyager than as an african child infected with aids from birth.
2) the cause(is the race in danger to be extinguished?) of such a mission would justify the "moral abuse" of the individuals. i think it is better to travel space than to be forced to go to war, isn�t it.