Tony Milligan

As an ethicist, specialising in what is known as virtue theory, I work along two axes. The first and dominant axis concerns astrobiology and space exploration. This involves a good deal of crossover with colleagues from the space sciences and the geosciences. I want to know what character traits lead to good and innovative science. The second axis involves time, and love's temporality in particular. This involves work rooted more in the humanities. While these scientific and humanities concerns may seem to involve very different things, there are surprising crossovers - for example, when it comes to planetary environmental protection in places with a historically formed cultural significance. It turns out that humans care about the past in non-instrumental ways. Care of this sort is deeply rooted in the human condition.