The Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life: Are We Alone - Essay Example

Technology and Space Exploration- Possible Alien Contact-What Happens Next? In some distant millennia, at some point in the future of humanity we may finally meet the challenges of extra-terrestrial colonization of outer solar planets. When all technological and scientific milestones are reached to effectively transplant a human population to another world, whether by faster than light transport, folding space, using wormholes or quantum transportation, we may be faced with more than simply planting a flag and calling it home. What if we find another beautiful blue marble of a world that is perfect for human habitation, but we discover distinct intelligent life forms upon it? Perhaps similar to the indigenous Native Americans or Australian Aboriginals when their worlds were discovered, named and colonized, what would we do? That is the ethical dilemma that this report will discuss. While there are many studies regarding terraforming and colonization of uninhabited worlds, there is little to no research, thought or discussion about finding an inhabited world full of resources and perfect for humans, but with an indigenous population. If there is, it is hidden behind closed doors and yet to be revealed. This paper hopes to shed some light on the far flung future of the human diaspora on other worlds. For the purposes of this study we also assume that the world itself has become unified under on banner and is exploring space for the benefit of all humankind. The boundaries of nations have dissolved to make this sojourn possible. However, we must start by looking at the present and the past of human colonization on this world, and the effect that science and technology has had upon it. While science has certainly broken down barriers between countries, such as using the World Wide Web to communicate, the explosion of technology and those who use it often have less than altruistic drives and motives. Money and gain often trumps research and development. This has always been the rift between science and technology and the ethical dilemma that scientists often find themselves in after seeing their research used for various unsavory purposes later on. Case in point is the founder of the Nobel peace prize, the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel. A discovery he hoped would improve the progress of the species, but has lead to great destruction and loss of life. There are also certain attitudes among scientists that make the concept of moving to other populated worlds troubling as well. In an interview with the director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute, Carolyn C. Porco, talks about how her philosophical questioning of religion led to her interest in science and astronomy. She revealed an interesting take on the relationship of god to the scientist:: And so when I say that religion can be replaced by science, I'm beginning with the concept of God as the explainer of all things, the über arent…The social organizations of religion provide something else entirely--that is, a means for people to feel connected to other people. But I think that science certainly can replace the God concept. As the saying goes, there isn't much left for God to do because science has explained so much of it. (Dowret, 2008, p. 14) This has been the hobgoblin of the scientist as often regards the pursuit of knowledge and the foundations of an ethical position. Not that belief in God is a prerequisite for a moral position, But faith in only the facts can lead to errors in judgement that are irreparable. Just because something can be done does not mean that it should be done. Colonialism. This has been the current prevalent attitude for those who have colonized inhabited areas here on earth. Colonialism is the rationalization that the more advanced culture has the right and the necessity to progress and dominate other territories not only to advance their own agendas but to “help” the “less fortunate” people found there into a better way of life. This is mostly done whether the indigenous inhabitants want it or not. John Sutart Mills, one of our greatest thinkers, used this to promote colonialism, “Mill’s ‘Ethics of Colonization’ exhibits his efforts to systematically justify a particular foreign policy, colonialism, which he considered a form of justified intervention. Mill is the first thinker to have used the Utilitarian system to justify international intervention” (Souffrant, 2000, p. 4). Mills believed that it was a moral priority to aid more “backward” countries. This is what has always been referred to as the missionary position, which brings up a very important point to be addressed: What about God? This would certainly expand our concept of God and the relevance of all life forms in the universe if we were finally to find other civilizations, other forms of beings with consciousness. Should we find that they may have souls, would it be our intention to allow them to exist in their own religious life, regardless of what that is. Or would we be compelled to become missionaries and bring them what we believe to be “The Word” of what ever Universal religion may have emerged in our far distant future, so that we may save them. If evolution is similar throughout the universe and the development of human beings is a constant, than religion and the search for meaning is an inherent feature. Life is a miracle regardless of belief and it, hopefully, would certainly enhance out spiritual beliefs to discover others like ourselves. Hopefully an exchange of views would lead to deeper comprehension of the mysteries of the universe. Who know, we may find more answers in their beliefs than in our own. But another point about souls and emergent intelligence: A further difficulty arises for religion concerning the concept of the soul. Recent advances in computer technology have raised the prospect of thinking machines. A major project for contemporary philosophers is to assess whether computers can be conscious or can even have souls. While the relationship between the mind and the body remains as intractable as ever (see chapter 5), we have to confront the possibility that aliens may turn out to be some sort of robots. Certainly the message itself will be sent by a machine, will presumably be designed by, and under the control of, some sort of computer system and at best be merely initiated by an intelligent non-machine. (Davies, 1995, p. 51) More miracles to come perhaps. There certainly many other issues to consider as well. A very recent article has been titled: “Colonialism and Place Creation in Mars Pathfinder Media Coverage.” As we sit here on earth we have already had the audacity to name the stars that we see and the planets not only in our system, but many outside the system as well. In this article by Dittmer, he concludes that the naming process is part and parcel with the colonial attitude regarding colonization. It is the egotistical concept that if you name a place you possess it, similar to spearing the moon with an American flag. “Even without indigenous names to uproot, the act of naming and mapping is still political in that it is an exercise in political power…” (Dittmer, 2007, p. 115). The act of naming and the creation of a conception of Mars as a place accessible to humans have created a political environment as well as a possibly profitable environment for us to explore. In the case of Mars however, there are no inhabitants to uproot. The author humorously refers to this as well, “Mars is in fact a useful space in which to study the process of place creation, which can be more complex in earthspace because of the need to incorporate local residents' views--not an issue on Mars, so far” (Dittmer, 2007, 114) Science has taken up this theory, or at least one researcher has popularized it. Nikolai Kardashev has created the Karadashev Scale (Karadashev, 1964, p. 217). He developed it when working with SETI and theorized about already existing galactic civilizations. He works from the assumption that only one single dominant intelligent species would begin by taking over all the resources on one planet (sounds familiar?), then one solar system, then an entire galaxy’s worth of planetary systems. However, he does postulate that this may not necessarily be the case if there were more than one technologically equal species encountered during this galactic expansion. He hypothesizes that they would share the galaxy, but only if they were equals. The underlying assumption would be that the scientifically and technologically dominant species would take over any “lesser” intelligent civilizations. So far colonialism and cultural imperialism are alive and well when Karadashev developed his scale in 1963. it remains to be seen how the future of humankind will eventually react. This attitude is often viewed as a silent privilege of human beings and seems reasonable and rational as shown in the following document. UNESCO gathered a group of philosophers, government researchers and scientists, as well as politicians and corporate executives to draft a paper on “The Ethics of Outer Space.” One passage at first view seems quite rational: To the extent that space is seen as the shared heritage of humankind, legal procedures must be defined to permit the processing, in the medium to long term, of data obtained by the use of space technologies and the discovery of potential resources bound up with the specific nature of space objects and/or that of the different planets (COMEST, 2000 p. 16) The word, “humankind” is used and while better than mankind, it still is an egocentric statement of the overriding feature of human privilege. Will alien races be viewed as human? If not, than the dehumanization of other species has often left us with little moral imperatives regarding the exploitation not only of their territories but also of those beings themselves. Another section is also troublesome: Without engaging in a wide-ranging philosophical debate, the Sub-Commission will consider the facts logically and draw up norms as the outcome of ethical reflection. The intention is to safeguard human dignity and therefore to highlight the diversity of human societies. It also seeks to introduce a “proactive” and constructive, rather than limitative, approach in order to permit the harmonious progress of science and technology in the context of space activities. (COMEST, 2000 p 14) While certainly being liberal in regards to the several different cultures on the planet earth, there seems to be little regard being fostered for anyone else in the universe besides ourselves. In fact a review of the entire document shows no such concern for indigenous alien cultures whatsoever. However, in our scenario, it is certainly the case that the world has come together and united in order to reach out into space to begin to colonize other worlds. One must assume that the clash between existing cultures on earth had somehow come to an end in order for this to happen. In an article entitled, “the Clash of Civilization” the author discuss how insurmountable a project this would be. Civilizations are differentiated from each other by history, language, culture, tradition and, most important, religion…These differences are the product of centuries. They will not soon disappear. They are far more fundamental than differences among political ideologies and political regimes. Differences do not necessarily mean conflict, and conflict does not necessarily mean violence. Over the centuries, however, differences among civilizations have generated the most prolonged and the most violent conflicts (Huntington, 1993). So if we are to assume that amongst each other we have resolved these conflicts, hopefully we will be able to see the universe in as universal an aspect. In fact one researcher into some of the colonization that has already taken place on earth has adopted a model that he hopes will replace the sovereign attitude of the colonizer. He proposes that we adopt a Universal Citizenship right here and right now. Kerry has proposed the following after extensively studying Australian Aboriginal citizens: The Universal Citizen will have a capacity for nurturance, and have initiated the processes of decolonisation to create pathways for action into the future. The Universal Citizen will be cognisant of the need to operate in highly differentiated spheres and will be concerned with becoming intrinsic to, not having dominion over, universal processes. The Universal Citizen will bring spirituality to the fore and transform the five spheres [land, water, air, life and mind] into metaphysical, metasocial and metaspiritual expressions of the covenant of the universe. (Arabena, 2006, p. 38) While certainly having a bit of a Buddhist bent, the author raises some valuable issue for our study. By maintaining an attitude of colonialism in our march into space, we will by inference be negating the importance of the cultures we find. We will catalog them as inferior or even perhaps evil and our mindset will be that they need to be helped or saved from their own folly. In Australia the following has already occurred: …Indigenous peoples have come from being the whole population to less than 4% of the population in just over 200 years. Indigenous peoples have experienced societal disruption and removal from country, which is vulnerable to exploitation. Indigenous peoples are advised to negotiate, and in some instances have negotiated, partnerships with corporations and governments, exchanging country for access to the improvements promised by mainstreaming. (Arabena, 2006, p. 40) Arabena then states perhaps the most important concept that we as Earth citizens and certainly as Universal citizens must come to grips with: “A major consideration for us all at the beginning of this new century is whether we consent to external agencies describing what our future looks like, and what this consent means” (Arabena, 2006, p. 41). It is this consent that we are often unaware of that will dictate what our future will be, especially as regards to the colonization of someone else’s world. Instead of making indigenous populations fit for humanity, hopefully our new consciousness will see that diversity is a valuable asset and not to be ignored or worse, replaced with homogenous humanity. Another factor in Earth’s relationship to the Universe is the concept that Humanity may be one of a kind, unique to the entire universe. Since we have not seen any credible evidence so far of the existence of aliens, this has gone undisputed and is often an unconscious belief. For some, however, it may be a gulf they are unwilling to cross. Confirmation that Man is not alone would tear at the very fabric of the belief systems of millions. Fundamentalist Christians, for example, would have a hard time reconciling their beliefs with the knowledge that there were alien souls out there. There is, of course, no mention of aliens in the Bible ("They're Trying To Contact," 2006, p. 29). There may also ensue a sense of panic in finding other intelligent non-human life out in the void. So far this kind of panic results in very bad judgement on the part of humans, certainly the military. Shoot first and ask questions later, is often the motto. After all, not all scientists are convinced that if we were to find aliens that they would not try to harm us. Even if our technology is superior, we can be in a better position to justify our actions if we can say that we were simply defending ourselves. The possibility of finding a planet that has an indigenous population of non-hostile life that has very little technology is not as remote as one might at first think. There has been a growing theory in regards to what scientists call Super-Earths. (Super-Earths, 2007, p. 21) These planets can be up to ten times the mass of the earth and will stay warmer and more life hospitable for up to thirty five percent longer than our home planet. Now if a planet’s climate were so perfect that there was no need to build extensive shelters or move from place to place during the year, then perhaps technology would not be needed in the scale that it is on earth. Consider a perfect biosphere where the inhabitant’s population growth was regulated and they were in perfect harmony with planet itself. Where is the need for technology if the people are at peace? Currently there are one hundred ninety one known planetary systems around main sequence stars, including our own solar system. These system probably contain at least two hundred twenty five known planets (William, 2007). In the far-flung future of our planetary missions this number will probably increase exponentially. Chances are we will have to deal with an indigenous culture somewhere along the line. We have already possibly discovered the existence of water on another world (Alien Planet is Wet, 2007) and that is certainly a step in the direction of life on another planet. It is time that we start conceiving of the notion that we are not alone and ponder what we are to do when we meet our universal neighbors. It may, as science fiction authors have hinted at, give us a new view on how we treat ourselves. If we look at ourselves now, our preparations are fairly self-centered and self- serving at best: Although those preparations are certainly neither a nefarious plot on the part of the news media, who are simply motivated by earthly profit rather than by a desire for galactic hegemony, nor a bid by NASA for mercantilist colonies in outer space, the economic interests that motivate their decisions structure the representation of Mars and produce it as a place that can be colonized rather than as a space beyond human geography. (Dittmer, 2007, p. 114) But in a future conceived of as having the whole world working together on this mission to space, there is certainly room for hope. Whatever earthly entity, corporate, governmental, religious or none-of-the-above, has brought all our different cultures together, we can live in the hope that they will have the right perspective when it comes to dealing with intelligent life on another world. References “Alien Planet Is Wet.” (2007). Current Science 93 (4), p. 15 Arabena, K. (2006). The Universal Citizen: An Indigenous Citizenship Framework for the Twenty-First Century. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 2006(2), p. 36-42 COMEST SUB-COMMISSIONON “THE ETHICS OF OUTER SPACE”. (2000, July 10-11). Retrieved March 22, 2008, from UNESCO documents and Publications Web site: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001220/122048e.pdf Davies, P. (1995). Are We Alone?: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life. New York: Basic Books. Dittmer, J. N. (2007). Colonialism and Place Creation in Mars Pathfinder Media Coverage. The Geographical Review, 97(1), p. 112-114 Dowret, Arnell. (2008) Science & Spirituality. Humanist 68 (1),p. 11-16 Huntington, Samuel P (1993) “The Clash of Civilizations” Foreign Affairs Summer 1993 Kardashev, N. S. (1964) “Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations.” Soviet Astronomy, 8, p. 217 William, Alexander J. (2007) “Known Planetary Systems” Princeton University Retrieved on March 24, 2008 from http://www.princeton.edu/~willman/planetary_systems/ Souffrant, Eddy M. (2000) Fromal transgression, John Sturat Mill’s Philosophy of international affairs. New York; Rowan and LIttlefield “Super-Earths can host life for longer than our planet.” (2007) New Scientist 196 (2629) p21-21 They're Trying to Contact Us! the Five Stars Most Likely to Support Alien Life Have Been Identified. Now, Scientists Are Training Thousands of Mega-Powerful Listening Computers on Them Convinced That . . (2006, February 27). The Daily Mail (London, England), p. 29. Read More