# Ian Stoner

**Domain:** space-development  
**Type:** person  
**Role:** Philosophy professor  

## Overview

Ian Stoner is a philosopher who argued against Mars colonization on environmental ethics grounds in his 2017 paper, applying the Principle of Scientific Conservation (PSC) to argue that Mars should remain pristine as a scientifically valuable object.

## Key Positions

**Anti-Mars colonization argument (2017):**
- Applied Principle of Scientific Conservation to Mars
- Argued there are no countervailing considerations that override the PSC obligation
- Compared Mars to the Great Pyramids: studying them for 100+ years doesn't justify converting them to hotels
- Position was later challenged by Gottlieb (2019) on existential risk grounds

## Timeline

- **2017** — Published argument against Mars colonization based on Principle of Scientific Conservation
- **2019** — Gottlieb published rebuttal arguing existential risk mitigation overrides PSC concerns