Katelyn Joyce- Space Trilogy, Immorality, and Colonization

 In the first book of the Space Trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, Lewis presents an interesting perspective on civilization and our understanding of good and evil. Reading this, made me realize that we often are unable to recognize the evil within ourselves. We don't automatically assume that our intentions are bad. Our decisions to act are based off of our perspective and desires. From the outside looking in, we can be seen as incredibly selfish. This occurs in the same way those on Malacandra felt towards those from earth. If you shift your perspective, anything we do for ourselves that does not in turn positively impact another can also be seen as selfish. When I look at Weston’s desire to colonize Malacandra, I can’t help but draw the parallels between and the many colonization ventures we have experienced over the years. We see this through the Spanish conquistadors and European settlers. This leads me to wonder what moral standards can we hold to those who colonize? It can be argued that both of the examples previously mentioned could have felt that they had good intentions. They wanted to support their country, find new resources, and search for adventure, but we see how negatively their colonization impacted those who are native to the land. This made me wonder what moral standards can we hold to those who colonize. Does the desire to colonize inherently make you an immoral person? Or is it dependent on your true intentions? With the desire for glory being a factor in many colonizers' decisions to go, this could mean that colonizing is an immoral and selfish action. I also wonder though would it still be immoral and selfish if the natives were not negatively impacted. I think it does not matter what your intentions are when colonizing or any other issue where we may be unable to recognize our selfishness. I believe that the question of morality is found within our ability to treat others well. This must be done consciously and to our greatest ability. I do not believe that Weston accomplishes this in Out of the Silent Planet. 


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