Abstract
This chapter argues that the plurality of worlds tradition originated with and was sustained by cosmological worldviews through the middle of the eighteenth century, was dominated for the following century by philosophical explorations, and in the late nineteenth century received its scientific foundations in modern terms. Even so, the extraterrestrial life debate in the twentieth century remains an example of science functioning at its limits. This very fact garners a large amount of interest among historians and philosophers of science.
First published as “Plurality of Worlds,” in Norriss S. Hetherington, ed., Encyclopedia of Cosmology: Historical, Philosophical and Scientific Foundations of Modern Cosmology, Garland Publishing (New York and London, 1993), pp. 502-512.
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Dick, S.J. (2020). Plurality of Worlds: A Persistent Theme in Western Civilization. In: Space, Time, and Aliens. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41614-0_1
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