The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, Antiquity to 1915: A Source Book [Paperback]

Michael J. Crowe (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0268023689 | ISBN-13: 978-0268023683 | Publication Date: October 15, 2008 | Edition: 1st

This book presents key documents from the pre-1915 history of the extraterrestrial life debate. Introductions and commentaries accompany each source document, some of which are published here for the first time or in a new translation. Authors included are Aristotle, Lucretius, Aquinas, Nicholas of Cusa, Galileo, Kepler, Pascal, Fontenelle, Huygens, Newton, Pope, Voltaire, Kant, Paine, Chalmers, Darwin, Wallace, Dostoevski, Lowell, and Antoniadi, among others. Michael J. Crowe has compiled an extensive bibliography not available in other sources.

These materials reveal that the extraterrestrial life debate, rather than being a relatively modern phenomenon, has extended throughout nearly all Western history and has involved many of its leading intellectuals. The readings also demonstrate that belief in extraterrestrial life has had major effects on science and society, and that metaphysical and religious views have permeated the debate throughout much of its history.

 

"This is a valuable book that is not available anywhere else. . . . Crowe's purpose is to let the reader see the original words of the authors who discussed other worlds. Crowe puts these documents in context by his substantial introduction and commentary. . . . Such a source book serves an important purpose, and is ideal for teaching and generating discussion in class. The subject is of increasing importance as we find more and more about the possibilities of extraterrestrial life through current disciplines such as astrobiology, bioastronomy, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence." —Steven J. Dick, Director, NASA History Division, NASA

 

"Having established himself as the world’s authority on the history of the debates about extraterrestrial life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Michael Crowe is perfectly positioned to produce this source book. The introductory commentaries on the excerpts from primary sources he has so judiciously selected reveal again and again that no one else knows this subject as well as he does." —Frederick Gregory, University of Florida

 

"The Extraterrestrial Life Debate gives new meaning to the word 'treasury.' Michael Crowe offers us more than 2000 years of golden materials—wrought by the astonishing alchemy of science, religion, philosophy, and sheer imagination—about a topic as alive today as it ever was: ET, with all his cousins and ancestors. The range of authors the book showcases, and the depth of context Crowe provides, will make his monumental anthology the starting point for future explorations of this rich vein of human thought." —Dennis Danielson, University of British Columbia

“There are loads of books on ET, but only a small number of them take a historical approach . . . Anyone interested in the history of the extraterrestrial life debate will be interested in this book; it does complete in a certain way previous historical work done by Steven Dick and Michael Crowe by providing large portions of original texts rather than merely short quotations from them. . . . All the various perspectives, religious, literary, astronomical, philosophical, seem adequately represented. The multidisciplinary aspect of the debate comes across well from the authors selected.” —Marie I. George, St. John’s University

“Extraterrestrials may not have invaded the Earth physically but for centuries they have done so mentally. In many a guise they have appeared not only in works of fiction but also in serious astronomical, philosophical and theological debate. It is impossible to open Michael Crowe's handsome and fastidiously prepared anthology of primary sources without being drawn into endlessly fascinating disputes concerning the possibility and character of extraterrestrial life. Savoring the many twists and turns in controversies that have extended far beyond the confines of popular astronomy, Professor Crowe has provided students and experts alike with a generous and indispensable resource. It is difficult to resist his invitation to investigate for ourselves the innumerable, and often surprising, ways in which the idea of intelligent life on other worlds has shaped and been shaped by perennial Earthly concerns.” —John Hedley Brooke, Andreas Idreos Professor Emeritus of Science and Religion, University of Oxford

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This source book, in fact, a monumental anthology, presents key documents from the pre-1915 history of the extraterrestrial life debate. . . . The book is designed to shed light on the question of the existence of extraterrestrials, and on those who sought to tackle the question.” —Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith

“Who wrote about the possibilities and implications of intelligent extraterrestrial life? Thanks to this superb anthology one is prompted to ask, Who didn’t? Michael Crowe is no mere compiler of facsimile reprints of primary sources, but a scholarly editor. This source book is a wonderful addition to the teacher’s toolkit and should find a readership far wider than historians of science.” —ISIS

From the Back Cover

"This is a valuable book that is not available anywhere else. . . . Crowe's purpose is to let the reader see the original words of the authors who discussed other worlds. Crowe puts these documents in context by his substantial introduction and commentary. . . . Such a source book serves an important purpose, and is ideal for teaching and generating discussion in class. The subject is of increasing importance as we find more and more about the possibilities of extraterrestrial life through current disciplines such as astrobiology, bioastronomy, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence." --Steven J. Dick, Director, NASA History Division, NASA

"Having established himself as the world's authority on the history of the debates about extraterrestrial life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Michael Crowe is perfectly positioned to produce this source book. The introductory commentaries on the excerpts from primary sources he has so judiciously selected reveal again and again that no one else knows this subject as well as he does." --Frederick Gregory, University of Florida

"The Extraterrestrial Life Debate gives new meaning to the word 'treasury.' Michael Crowe offers us more than 2000 years of golden materials--wrought by the astonishing alchemy of science, religion, philosophy, and sheer imagination--about a topic as alive today as it ever was: ET, with all his cousins and ancestors. The range of authors the book showcases, and the depth of context Crowe provides, will make his monumental anthology the starting point for future explorations of this rich vein of human thought." --Dennis Danielson, University of British Columbia

"There are loads of books on ET, but only a small number of them take a historical approach. . . . Anyone interested in the history of the extraterrestrial life debate will be interested in this book; it does complete in a certain way previous historical work done by Steven Dick and Michael Crowe by providing large portions of original texts rather than merely short quotations from them. . . . All the various perspectives, religious, literary, astronomical, philosophical, seem adequately represented. The multidisciplinary aspect of the debate comes across well from the authors selected." --Marie I. George, St. John's University

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press; 1st edition (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0268023689
• ISBN-13: 978-0268023683
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #526,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Historical Source on the Extraterrestrial Life Debate, October 4, 2008

By 

Steve Ruskin (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, Antiquity to 1915: A Source Book (Paperback)

Those interested in the history of ideas of extraterrestrial life (ETL)--and especially those who believe speculation on ETL began only in the 20th-century--may be happy to learn they are part of a tradition that goes back to antiquity. Michael J. Crowe, author of `The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900' now provides this primary Source Book containing selections of writings from the ancient Greeks through the beginning of the twentieth century, allowing readers to discover first hand what those in previous eras believed and debated about the possibility of extra-terrestrial intelligent life.

By reading these sources, we learn that notions of ETL were closely tied to contemporary theological, cultural and scientific beliefs. St. Augustine (354-430) for example argued against a notion of innumerable other worlds based solely on the Deity's own infinitude ("...if they imagine infinite spaces of time before the world, during which God could not have been idle, in like manner they may conceive outside the world infinite realms of space, in which...they must adopt Epicurus' dream of innumerable worlds...", p. 16); consider also Galileo (1564-1642), who suggested life on the moon was unlikely ("...the moon is alternately in sunshine and darkness for 15 continuous days of 24 hours...if our plants and animals...were plunged in [similar] cold and darkness, they could not possibly preserve themselves, much less produce and multiply. We must...conclude that, what would be impossible on our earth under the circumstances we have supposed to exist, must be impossible on the moon where those conditions do exist." p.53). Continuing with the moon, we find that William Herschel (1738-1822, discoverer of the planet Uranus) was quite sure it contained life ("...the thought of Forrests or Lawn and Pastures still remains exceedingly probable to me"; Herschel also observed what he thought were "roads, canals, and pyramids." p.179).

The book organizes these primary source selections according to the following chronology:
I. Antiquity to Newton
II. The Eighteenth Century
III. From 1800 to 1860
IV. From 1860 to 1915

In each of these periods, notions of ETL were altered and debated based on contemporary theological, cultural, intellectual, technological, and scientific trends.

In conclusion, this wonderful and nicely illustrated historical resource provides not only a scholarly addition to work already done on the history of the ETL debate, but it also makes for enjoyable browsing for the general reader with an interest in this topic. Crowe brings his own years of research on the history of the ETL debate to bear on his selection of primary sources with his helpful commentary on each source, thereby providing context that makes this Source Book more than just a collection of disparate parts.