The Biological Universe: The Twentieth Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science

by Steven J. Dick

• ISBN13: 9780521343268
• ISBN10: 0521343267
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-06-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Throughout the twentieth century, from the furor over Percival Lowell's claim of canals on Mars to the sophisticated Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, otherworldly life has often intrigued and occasionally consumed science and the public. Does 'biological law' reign throughout the universe? Are there other histories, religions, and philosophies outside of those on Earth? Do extraterrestrial minds ponder the mysteries of the universe? The attempts to answer these often asked questions form one of the most interesting chapters in the history of science and culture, and The Biological Universe is the first book to provide a rich and colorful history of those attempts during the twentieth century. Covering a broad range of topics, including the search for life in the solar system, the origins of life, UFOs, and aliens in science fiction, Steven J. Dick shows how the concept of extraterrestrial intelligence is a world view of its own, a 'biophysical cosmology' that seeks confirmation no less than physical views of the universe.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables	x
Acknowledgments	xiii
Abbreviations	xv
Introduction	1	(9)
From the Physical World to the Biological Universe: Democritus to Lowell	10	(26)
The Cosmological Connection	11	(11)
Philosophical Explorations	22	(7)
Scientific Foundations	29	(7)
Plurality of Worlds and the Decline of Anthropocentrism	36	(23)
The Anthropocentric Universe: A. R. Wallace	38	(12)
The New Universe: Anthropocentrism's Demise?	50	(9)
Life in the Solar System: The Limits of Observation	59	(101)
Lowell and Mars: The Search for Intelligence, 1894-1924	62	(43)
The Search for Martian Vegetation, 1924-1957	105	(21)
Venus: Last Hope for Intelligence	126	(9)
The Space Age: Lowell's Legacy Overturned	135	(25)
Planetary Systems: The Limits of Theory	160	(62)
Skepticism: Observational Hints and Stellar Encounters	162	(18)
Turning Point: 1943-1958	180	(20)
Optimism: Observation to the Rescue?	200	(22)
Extraterrestrials in Literature and the Arts: The Role of Imagination	222	(45)
The Invention of the Alien: Verne, Wells, and Lasswitz	223	(15)
The Development and Uses of the Alien: Burroughs to Bradbury	238	(15)
The Alien Comes of Age: Clarke, ET, and Beyond	253	(14)
The UFO Controversy and the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis	267	(54)
Rise of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis	268	(20)
The Peak of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis: 1965-1969	288	(19)
Aftermath: The Nature of Evidence and the Decline of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis in Physical Science	307	(14)
The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Extraterrestrial Context	321	(78)
Arrhenius and Panspermia: An Extraterrestrial Theory of the Origin of Life	325	(4)
Interlude: The Rise of the Chemical Theory and Its Latent Extraterrestrial Implications, 1924-1957	329	(21)
The Integration of Origin of Life and Extraterrestrial Life Studies in the Space Age	350	(39)
Evolution and Extraterrestrials: Chance and Necessity Revisited	389	(10)
SETI: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence	399	(74)
Prelude: The Era of Interplanetary Communication	401	(13)
Cornell, Ozma, and Green Bank: The Opening of the Electromagnetic Spectrum for SETI	414	(17)
A Rationale for SETI: Optimists, Pessimists, and the Drake Equation	431	(23)
A Strategy for SETI: The Development of Observational Programs	454	(19)
The Convergence of Disciplines: Birth of a New Science	473	(29)
Perceptions of a New Discipline	475	(3)
Networks: Formation of the Scientific Community	478	(16)
Institutions: Programs and Funding	494	(8)
The Meaning of Life: Implications of Extraterrestrial Intelligence	502	(35)
Perceptions of Cultural Impact	503	(11)
Astrotheology	514	(13)
Life and Purpose in the Universe: The Anthropic Principle	527	(10)
Summary and Conclusion: The Biological Universe and the Limits of Science	537	(18)
The Triumph of Cosmic Evolution	538	(3)
The Biological Universe as Cosmological Worldview	541	(2)
The Problematic Nature of Evidence and Inference	543	(3)
The Limits of Science	546	(4)
The Cultures of Science	550	(1)
Exobiology as Protoscience	551	(1)
Cultural Significance of the Debate	552	(3)
Select Bibliographical Essay	555	(6)
Index	561