Civilized Life in the Universe: Scientists on Intelligent ExtraterrestrialsThis book is a selective and fascinating history of scientific speculation about intelligent extraterrestrial life. From Plutarch to Stephen Hawking, some of the most prominent western scientists have had quite detailed perceptions and misperceptions about alien civilizations: Johannes Kepler, fresh from transforming astronomy with his work on the shape of planetary orbits, was quite sure alien engineers on the moon were excavating circular pits to provide shelter; Christiaan Huygens, the most prominent physical scientist between Galileo and Newton, dismissed Kepler's speculations, but used the laws of probability to prove that "planetarians" on other worlds are much like humans, and had developed a sense of the visual arts; Carl Sagan sees clearly that Huygens is a biological chauvinist, but doesn't see as clearly that he, Sagan, may be a cultural/technological chauvinist when he assumes aliens have highly developed technology like ours, but better. Basalla traces the influence of one speculation on the next, showing an unbroken but twisting chain of ideas passed from one scientist to the next, and from science to popular culture. He even traces the influence of popular culture on science--Sagan always admitted how much E. R. Burroughs' Martian novels influenced his speculations about Mars. Throughout, Basalla weaves his theme that scientific belief in and search for extraterrestrial civilizations is a complex impulse, part secularized-religious, and part anthropomorphic. He questions the common modern scientific reasoning that life converges on intelligence, and intelligence converges on one science valid everywhere. He ends the book by agreeing with Stephen Hawking (usually a safe bet) that intelligence is overrated for survival in the universe, and that we are most likely alone. |
Contents
3 | |
2 Life on the Moon | 17 |
3 From the Moon to the Planets | 31 |
4 The Ascension of Mars | 49 |
Champion of Canals | 67 |
6 Mars Unveiled | 89 |
Mars and Beyond | 107 |
8 Life in an Expanding Universe | 127 |
CETI to SETI to HRMS | 151 |
10 Mirror Worlds | 175 |
11 Afterword | 197 |
Sources of Quoted Material | 203 |
Bibliography | 209 |
Index | 229 |
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Common terms and phrases
advanced civilizations advanced extraterrestrial alien civilizations American argued artificial astronomers Barsoom believed biological biologists Carl Sagan celestial century claimed communication cosmos critics culture developed Drake’s equation Dyson Dyson sphere early Earth engineers evolution evolutionary existence exobiology extrasolar planets extraterrestrial civilizations extraterrestrial intelligence Fontenelle Frank Drake Galaxy Galileo Green Bank Herschel HRMS humans Huygens Huygens’s idea images infinite inhabitants intelligent aliens intelligent creatures intelligent extraterrestrial interpretation interstellar irrigation Kardashev Kepler living Lowell’s lunar map of Mars Martian canals Martian landscape mathematics million modern Moon Morrison NASA NASA’s nature Observatory orbit organisms Percival Lowell philosopher physicists Pioneer polar caps popular principle of mediocrity projects radio astronomy radio signals radio telescopes religious Schiaparelli science fiction scientific scientists search for extraterrestrial SETI research Shklovskii social societies solar system Soviet spacecraft speculation stars supercivilizations superior surface technological civilizations telescopic observation terrestrial theory universe Viking worlds wrote