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THE SCIENTIFIC STATUS OF SETI

The establishment of interstellar contact may greatly prolong the life expectancy of the race that does so. Those races that have solved their ecological and sociological problems and are therefore very long lived may already be in mutual contact sharing an inconceivably vast pool of knowledge. Access to this ‘galactic heritage’ may well prove to be the salvation of any race whose technological prowess qualifies it.

(Oliver and Billingham, 1973: 169)

Introduction

This chapter considers some of the methodological objections to SETI research but it is maintained that, notwithstanding alleged fallacies attributed to some of the arguments of its exponents, SETI falls within the province of genuine scientific inquiry. SETI differs from pseudo-science in its adherence to scientific theories and requirement to provide legitimate explanations. A review of the post-positivist approach to the philosophy of science developed by Sir Karl Popper, Paul K. Feyerabend, and Thomas Kuhn suggests that SETI offers a research programme that is compatible with late-twentieth-century ideas about science. This chapter also focuses on the underlying beliefs and assumptions governing SETI research, and the Drake equation is examined.

SETI and pseudo-science

SETI emerged as a recognized branch of science in the early 1960s. Initially it adopted the acronym CETI, which meant ‘Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence’. The word CETI is also the Latin term for a whale, which is an intelligent non-human creature. More recently the expression SETI has been adopted. SETI scientists are largely committed to radio searches as a means of establishing communication with ET life, but their scientific theorizing is much wider than radio astronomy.

Since 1960 radio telescopes throughout the world have sought in vain an intelligent extraterrestrial signal. Over this period the status of SETI among the

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scientific community has fluctuated. Its lowest point was in 1978 when Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin presented the Golden Fleece Award to NASA’s SETI scientists. This award, presented with massive media coverage, was devised by the Senator to highlight foolish pursuits which cheat the Government out of its gold. This kind of attention caused NASA to withhold funding for SETI projects, and Proxmire’s amendment to the appropriation bill for NASA funding in 1981 excluded SETI research. Proxmire did, however, withdraw his amendment after a meeting with Carl Sagan, who played an influential part in persuading him of the value of SETI research, and SETI funding was restored in 1983. Recognition from the scientific community came in 1982, when the International Astronomical Union adopted the term ‘Bioastronomy’ to depict the search for life and intelligence in the cosmos and initiated a commission devoted to this purpose. It adopted the following seven principles:

1. To search for planets in other stellar systems.
2. To study evolution of planets and their possibilities for life.
   
3. To detect extraterrestrial radio signals
   
4. To investigate organic molecules in the universe.
   
5. To detect primitive biological activity.
   
6. To search for signs of advanced civilizations.
   
7. To collaborate with other international organizations such as those devoted to biology, astronautics, etc.
   

This does not, of course, mean that the majority of astronomers are devoted to the objectives of SETI. There are over 7,000 professional astronomers world-wide, but less than 1 per cent of these are actively engaged in SETI. Nevertheless, it might be noted that it is SETI objectives which foster public interest in astronomy and professional astronomy is largely dependent upon the public purse. Media attention, possibly manipulated by scientific agencies, has a profound effect on the funding and direction of scientific research. Following claims in 1996 about early life on Mars, funding for prospective missions to Mars and the search for extraterrestrial life dramatically increased. Thus in 1998 estimates for the growth in NASA’s astrobiology budget was predicted to grow from below US$15 million in 1999 to as high as US$100 million the following year (Seife, 1998b).

From the outset SETI scientists have sought to distance themselves from Ufology and other branches of inquiry deemed to be  pseudo-scientific. There are clear methodological rules regarding the recognition of ETI: for example, the rule that every object must be assumed to be of natural origin unless it is decidedly proven to be unnatural, places the burden of proof on SETI researchers to provide adequate evidence for their theories. This is in sharp contrast to many exponents of pseudo-science where the onus of proof is directed to the sceptic. SETI scientists work within the limits of existing theory and levels of technology and eschew appeals to as yet unheard of theories when

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