MovieChat Forums > Mars (2016) Discussion > Search for life = Religion?

Search for life = Religion?

posted 8 years ago by maritze
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In Ep 4 one of the interviewees, Roger Launius, claims that the search for extraterrestrial life requires the same kind of faith as belief in religion. His exact words are 'There's almost a religious belief that we will find it if we keep looking. It's based on faith and not knowledge in the same way that religion is based on faith and not knowledge' I found that a remarkably obtuse way of seeing this issue and it is demonstrably not the same thing or even alike. While I am sure that there are people -even scientists- who believe in both religion and/or ET life in the same manner, I don't think Launius's sweepingly generalised statement is really applicable to this matter.

Religious belief is faith in the unprovable. Searching for life is not faith in the unprovable. It is the very process of looking for empirical evidence that life might exist elsewhere. There's is a big difference between wanting to know if a thing is true or not, to simply believing that it is. The drive to want to know is a motivation all in itself entirely separate from any a priori beliefs. Religion is precisely not like that in any way.

Argued the other way round, is religion the search for empirical proof that god exists? Clearly not.

It's this kind of pseudo-science babble that's become pervasive in Nat Geo, History channel etc. type shows, and a pretty awful thing it is.

[–] sparker21 8 years ago

I think he was trying to point out how odd the search for extraterrestrial life is within the scientific world.

In most cases (not all) science is pursued by making empirical observation of what is and learning from the results, not by making an a priori determination of what you are looking for and then pursuing that alone. That kind of research usually falls under the heading of engineering.

The expectation that extraterrestrial life will be found does seem to exist as a matter of faith as there is as yet no empirical evidence that it will be, and that makes it odd.

[–] maritze 8 years ago

I think he was trying to point out how odd the search for extraterrestrial life is within the scientific world.

Yeah, though it's not that odd. Is it odd to look for more sub atomic particles or to search for other antibiotics? I don't think so.

In most cases (not all) science is pursued by making empirical observation of what is and learning from the results, not by making an a priori determination of what you are looking for and then pursuing that alone.

Again, not entirely accurate or true, for that matter. The scietific method is not just one simple set of rule that must be followed, intuition and surprise are likely just as common origins of results as -often- happens, with setting an a priori (usually called a hypothesis) outcome in place and attempting to prove or disprove it... still, it's not like religion.

[–] brunitt0 8 years ago

The search for life, can also be the within, the will and power to surrive for the team and make it as a team. And if it may be the ones who make mankind the first life to start on Mars. Wich is my conclusion on the ending, if we keep going to Mars and dont let fear stop us. If we stay long enough we might find the life we were looking for, but in the end we will be the life on Mars, If we have the will. its called a "Win, win, situation." in Denmark

[–] fredgarv79 8 years ago

he didn't say it "requires" the same kind of faith, he said there is "almost" a religious belief that we will find it if we keep looking. he's just saying we have faith, or a belief, that we will find it someday as it is not based on any knowledge or evidence that we have currently. I think your over analyzing it. he's not saying we have to have some religious belief to find it, just that it is similar in the sense that we have "faith" that we will find it. what is wrong with that?

[–] maritze 8 years ago

Sorry, I don't see that.

He goes on to say 'It's based on faith and not knowledge in the same way that religion is based on faith and not knowledge' thereby strengthening what he sees as supposed compatible or even comparable similarities. Other than repeating my original post, which is redundant, I can add that he is -as you are- entitled to his views which is fine, I however, disagree. Strongly. I don't accept the comparison for reasons I shared above.

[–] Naldoman 8 years ago

the more people you send to Mars to look for life, the more likely the life you find will be something you brought to Mars, not something indiginous.

If we really want life on Mars, we should begin dumping tons and tons of garbage all over the planet - just nonstop.

Something wonderful will happen.