Extraterrestrials: A Philosophical Perspective

by André Kukla

Overview

The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, or SETI, has attracted both praise and sharp criticism from the mainstream scientific community over the years. Extraterrestrials: A Philosophical Perspective explores the important philosophical issues that are at play in this discussion. AndrZ Kukla closely examines several of the prominent ideas surrounding the possibility of extraterrestrial life such as the vastness of the universe argument, the argument from mediocrity and the one world, one science argument while offering innovative theories of his own. Among other things, Kukla show uses Chomsky's account of language acquisition to explain why humans will never be able to communicate with extraterrestrials. Extraterrestrials offers a close and thorough treatment of extraterrestrial life that will intrigue a wide audience, especially those who are interested in the philosophy of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739142462
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/28/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	120
File size:	217 KB

About the Author

AndrZ Kukla is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. On the Prospect of an Extraterrestrial Encounter
Chapter 2. On the Pursuitworthiness of Extraterrestrial Studies
Chapter 3. SETI versus CETI
Chapter 4. The One World, One Science Argument
Chapter 5. Innateness, Linguistic Universals, and Extraterrestrial Communication