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9 - A historical perspective on the extent and search for life

from Part II - Extent of life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2010

By
Steven J. Dick
Edited by
Constance M. Bertka
Constance M. Bertka
Affiliation:
AAAS, Washington
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Summary

The premise of my chapter is that history can be not only enlightening in itself but also significant in a variety of contemporary contexts. One clear example of this is in connection with the theological, ethical, and philosophical implications of the search for life, because these issues have been addressed again and again throughout history as the possibility of life beyond Earth has been raised. It is true that most of the historical debate has centered on extraterrestrial intelligence rather than microbial life. But at least part of the interest in the search for microbial life is that it is an indication of the prevalence of intelligence in the universe. This explains in part the uproar over the claims for nanofossils in the Mars rock in 1996 – much more was at stake than primitive life on Mars itself. This connection between microbes and intelligence is made especially in the popular mind, despite the fact that many evolutionists would argue that the gap between microbes and intelligence is greater than that between life and non-life. Thus, Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee have recently, and famously, argued that the universe may well be full of microbes, but not intelligence, making ours a “Rare Earth”. If this is true, the study of the implications of microbial life beyond Earth is all the more important.

Type
Chapter
Information
Exploring the Origin, Extent, and Future of Life
Philosophical, Ethical and Theological Perspectives
 , pp. 167 - 185
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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References

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