The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900
Editorial Reviews
From Scientific American
Crowe's aim is to show that "the question of extraterrestrial life, rather than having arisen in the twentieth century, has been debated almost from the beginning of recorded history." He deals only briefly with writings before 1750 because they "have recently been capably discussed by Steven J. Dick in his Plurality of Worlds: The Origins of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant," and he stops early in the 20th century because of "the vast quantity of materials that had appeared by then" and also because of "my determination to base this study on firsthand knowledge of the great majority of these items." The extent of his firsthand knowledge is suggested by his bibliography, listing 143 works published from 1584 to 1915, and his name index, which has more than 1,000 entries. Crowe is a professor of philosophy of science at the University of Notre Dame, and one would expect his discussion to range over the philosophical, scientific and religious aspects of his subject. It does. One learns what prominent people in each field have said for or against extraterrestrial life. It is, Crowe writes, a debate that "differs from most debates in the history of science by the fact that it remains unresolved." The book is a reprint of the edition published in 1986 by Cambridge University Press.
Book Description
This is the first detailed, scholarly study in English of the many varied astronomical, philosophical and religious ideas that developed between 1750 and 1900 regarding the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. The author examines the great extent to which prominent historical figures (Kant, Herschel, Paine, Lowell, etc.) engaged the issue, and demonstrates the powerful effect the question has had on Western intellectual life. 16 illus.
The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900,Michael J. Crowe,Dover Publications,048640675X,General,History,Life Sciences - Evolution,Life on other planets,Plurality of worlds,Science,Science/Mathematics,UFOs & Extraterrestrials,Extraterrestrial beings,History of ideas, intellectual history,Science / General,c 1700 to c 1800,c 1800 to c 1900
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