“The renowned University of Cambridge physicist has previously spoken in favour of colonising space as an insurance policy against the possibility of humanity being wiped out by catastrophes like nuclear war and climate change.”
I never understood why atheists (and Hawking is arguably one) see any value, let alone so much value, in the perpetuation of the human race.
If the creation of the human race was a random, meaningless, cosmic accident, then the extinction of the human race would be an equally random, meaningless, cosmic accident. No?
It’s because they have faith, not in an all powerful God, but in the rational mind. A super-advanced intelligence will behave rationally and intelligently, they believe, probably in almost every situation — and that’s good.
Personally, I’m less certain that it’s good. A super-advanced civilization that wanted the Earth, for instance, might sterilize it first before moving in and not lose a minute’s sleep over it. In other words, imo, there seems to be a disconnect between intelligence and morality without the presence of God in one’s life.
That said, I want to see us expand into space and establish colonies on every planet we can get to.