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The possibility that humans are not alone in the Universe and might in the future come in close contact with other intelligences is one of the most intriguing questions of human history and has deep implications for our understanding of the Universe and ourselves. In this book the subject is dealt with in an interdisciplinary way, giving the scientific and technological implications, discussing the philosophical and religious connotations and rebuffing the pseudo-scientific statements.Based on our current scientific understanding of the Universe, the possibility of extraterrestrial life is discussed, summarizing cosmic, chemical and biological evolution. What we now know of the Universe suggests that life is common and extraterrestrial intelligent life is a possibility.The problem of searching for extraterrestrial intelligent beings is often reduced to radiotelescope technology or the possibility of decoding a possible message. In many cases the idea of ETIs is loaded with anthropomorphism. The author discusses problems such as: what is intelligence? What is consciousness? Should we expect ETIs to be conscious beings and other philosophical issues. The future perspectives for humankind opened by long range spaceflight are also examined and the possibilities of true contact with other intelligent beings are considered.At the heart of this book is an examination of the viability of future astronautics which would enable closer human contact with ETI than through radio messages taking thousands of years to reach their destination. The possibility of faster-than-light space travel is considered.The book addressesreaders with an interest in general science, but also those with a humanist background, interested in the great philosophical debate about human nature, in particular the question of whether there is other intelligent life in the Universe, and the author counterbalances recent theories such as "rare earth".
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LONELY MINDS IN THE UNIVERSE
LONELY MINDS IN THE UNIVERSE
Giancarlo Genta
c Copernicus Books An Imprint of Springer Science+Business Media
In Association with
Praxis Publishing Ltd
Giancarlo Genta Department of Mechanics Politecnico di Torino Torino 101291 Italy www.giancarlogenta.it © 2007 Praxis Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in the United States by Copernicus Books, an imprint of Springer Science+Business Media. Copernicus Books Springer Science+Business Media 233 Spring Street New York, NY 10013 www.springer.com Library of Cor\gress Control Number: 2007925938
Manufactured in the United States of America. Printed on acid-free paper.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-0-387-33925-2
e-ISBN: 978-0-387-69039-1
To Franca and Alessandro
C©S^TE^T PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION
XI
xiii XV
CHAPTER 1:
THE HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES T h e Magical Vision of the N o n h u m a n Ancient Philosophy Medieval Philosophy T h e Renaissance T h e Birth of M o d e r n Science First Attempts at Contact Cosmism From Enthusiasm to Disenchantment
1 1 2 6 8 10 16 17 18
CHAPTER 2:
THE RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE Is Extraterrestrial Life a Threat to Religion? A Finite Universe and an Infinite God Hinduism, Buddhism, and O t h e r Oriental Religions Judaism Islam Christianity T h e Problem of Original Sin T h e Problem of Redemption Biocosmic Theology
23 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 34 36
Vll
Contents CHAPTER 3:
THE ASTROBIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE A N e w Science: Astrobiology Times of the Un