Abstract
This chapter continues the historical discussion, focusing on the development of scientific SETI research in the 1950s. The chapter looks at some of the ideas that have emerged in relation to the nature of ETI, the Drake Equation, and the nature of human and alien civilizations and points out several of the underlying assumptions related to these ideas, particularly the manner in which nineteenth century concepts of cultural evolution have shaped the way many SETI scientists and others have conceptualized the possible nature of an extraterrestrial civilization.
Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think we are the only living things in this enormous immensity.
— Wernher von Braun, quoted in the New York Times, 29 April 1960
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Notes
- 1.
This is not to say that everyone thought humans would, or should, travel to space. Bob Ward (2005: 88–89), in his biography of Wernher von Braun, notes that many Americans thought that it was either impossible to go to the Moon or that it was somehow contrary to the Bible and, thus, against the wishes of the Christian god for humans to depart the planet. And von Braun himself was occasionally accused of being a nutcase due to his insistence on the idea that humans would travel into space.
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A common assumption of SETI has been that a signal might be broadcast at 1,420 MHz, which is the natural marker frequency for hydrogen, which, in turn, is the most abundant element in the universe. A reasonable assumption is that an alien intelligence sending out a signal with the intention of it being intercepted by another civilization might pick this frequency as it would represent evidence of intelligence—awareness of the importance of hydrogen in the universe.
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I recognize that there is a biological basis for altruistic behavior that has been widely discussed in the areas of sociobiology and physical anthropology. I am not disputing this, rather I am arguing that the biological aspect of altruism is heavily shaped by culture. See Traphagan (2012).
- 7.
There are those who argue that historical characters like Hitler were actually practicing a form of altruism. For example, in an opinion piece published in MIT’s The Tech, David Honig argues that, “I claim that Hitler was altruistic… He required individuals to put the good of other people, whose will was represented by the state, above their own.” I personally find it difficult to see Hitler as altruistic. My point is that the concept of altruism is difficult to define in a universal way and it is possible to conceptualize actions that many view as monstrous as being altruistic depending upon your viewpoint. This isn’t simple. http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N53/honig.53o.html
- 8.
Encoding Altruism, from the newsletter Science and Spirit. http://archive.seti.org/seti/projects/imc/encoding/altruism.php
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There is another point that needs to be kept in mind. SETI scholars often describe our civilization as in an “adolescent” stage, as I have noted. But depending upon how you look at it, we have had civilization on Earth for around 11,000 years, dating back to the Late Natufians who developed agriculture somewhere between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago (see Tomkins 1998).
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Traphagan, J. (2015). Are We Alone? The Emergence of SETI. In: Extraterrestrial Intelligence and Human Imagination. Space and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10551-2_3
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