cultures survive the death of their stars? Is there a galactic network? How prevalent is life in the universe? How did life get started? What is the typical life-span of a technological civilization? Is there intergalactic space travel? If contact is made with ETI from within our galaxy we could assume that since at least two independent intelligent cultures have evolved here, there are likely to be others in many galaxies, which would suggest that life is widespread. We might also infer that they had learnt to survive technology, although there is always the possibility that they are sending a ‘goodbye-don’t-make-our-mistakes’ warning from a dying civilization.
If contact is made with more advanced civilizations it may well be with robots who have replaced human intelligence, suggests Paul Davies (1995). This could, argues Davies, also have a profound effect on us, as it would reveal that mankind does not represent the pinnacle of evolutionary advance and this knowledge could have a demoralizing effect on people. On the other hand, the fact that knowledge can advance so much might prove exhilarating and inspiring: ‘Either way,’ says Davies (ibid.: 36): ‘it is hard to see how the world’s great religions could continue in anything like their present form should an alien message bereceived.’ For if they had abandoned religion, this knowledge could damage our faith, but if they had retained a form of spirituality it would very likely convert many humans, argues Davies. Perhaps this forecast is too severe: most of the world’s religions are very adaptive and can accept new concepts. Christianity has survived Copernicanism, the collapse of Aristotelianism, Darwinian theory and Marxism. Three centuries of scientific materialism have not eliminated the need for a spiritual dimension of experience and it is unlikely that knowledge concerning an extraterrestrial belief system would have a devastating effect. Moreover, religious fundamentalists would not have to adapt their dogmas; they are quite experienced in the rebuttal of scientific facts that appear to conflict with their beliefs, and could continue to reject whatever evidence is produced, as they have done with Darwinian theory or any other scientific position which they find unacceptable.
In an optimistic survey of the benefits of contact Steven J. Dick (1998: 253) maintains that the Judaeo-Christian as well as Buddhist, Hindu and Chinese religions should have no problem in adapting to the realities of ETI. However, he notes, ‘No true astrotheology was developed in the twentieth century in the sense that new theological principles were created, or existing ones formally modified, to embrace other moral agents in the Universe.’
Many SETI enthusiasts claim that knowledge of the existence of an advanced technological society would demonstrate that intelligence can survive advanced technology without global war. But this argument may be naïve, as it assumes that our political experience will be inevitably reproduced with a similar technology. Other political controls may have been developed in which technology is not geared to war and high consumption, and would not pose the threat of ecological destruction. Nevertheless, it might be argued that we could still learn something from their alternative systems of political control. This has
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been disputed. According to Puccetti (1968), it is unlikely that we could learn how to solve our problems and survive technology from observations of intelligent extraterrestrials. Little practical information could be gained from reports of their political structures, as other cultures and their histories are never applicable to our own difficulties, he argues. ‘This should be more obvious where the historical knowledge concerns a biologically distinct race or another planetary system’ (ibid.: 106). This may be too pessimistic. We are capable of learning from different political structures and different cultures; most of the world’s great religions and ethical systems are derived from the histories of people we have little in common with, and many of these are deities or extraterrestrials of one form or another.
SETI researchers have predicted that contact with a more advanced species would be beneficial. Optimistic SETI researchers speak of the benefits to be derived from contact with superior intelligent extraterrestrials. Frank Drake (Drake and Sobel, 1993: xiii) maintains that contact with a more advanced civilization would provide ‘us with a glimpse of what Earth’s future could be’. According to Michael Michaud (1990), contact could initiate a ‘knowledge revolution’. Even the mere detection of ETI would bring new knowledge about the evolution of life and intelligence. If they sent a message describing their biological make-up it would certainly have a profound effect on our theories regarding the origins of life, especially if the message revealed an independent line of evolution. Even if we could not interpret their signals the fact of their existence would still tell us much about their technology. If we could interpret them that would certainly have a profound impact. They may introduce new aesthetic forms and new branches of science. Michaud compares the potential contact between ETI and Earth with the knowledge transmitted to medieval Europe from ancient Greece; it could be a new synthesis of knowledge, he says, heralding a great leap forward, as in the Renaissance. It would involve the end of cultural isolation: if there is a galactic network then we would not be the first civilization to make contact, and if contact exists it is likely to have been going on for some time. Moreover, if there really is a communication network then once we are connected to it we could learn of the history of the galaxy, about early civilizations, alternative cultures, arts, political systems and means of survival.
This optimism may turn out to have been ill-founded. Difference often breeds misunderstanding. They might not wish to share their knowledge, tell us how to make more powerful weapons or how to plunder the natural resources of the galaxy. Confrontation with superior knowledge could destroy the morale of scientists and undermine support for research. Communication itself could amount to a form of mental colonization if extraterrestrials have superior minds combined with manipulative tendencies. The very idea of a superior intelligence is hard to accept, especially for the human male who has problems accepting that other terrestrial animals have intelligence. Those on Earth who had access to information from a more advanced technology may reveal strong tendencies
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