The One World, One Science Argument
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8399452 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andre Kukla (The Scarborough Hospital, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 73-88 |
| Publication date | 2008-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axn001 |
| OpenAlex | W2141826591 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 5 |
The one world, one science argument (so named by Rescher) is advanced by Carl Sagan and others to support the thesis that we will be able to learn to converse with intelligent extraterrestrials if and when we encounter them. The prima facie obstacle to extraterrestrial communication is that the aliens’ culture and geography are bound to be so different from ours that we would find it extremely difficult, if not practically impossible, to find a common topic on which we can both converse. Sagan's rebuttal is that we will share mathematics and the laws of physics, these being the same for all intelligent beings regardless of local cultural and geographical variations. I show that this argument fails even if its contentious assumptions about science and the world are granted—that is to say, it fails on uncontentious grounds. 1. OWOS2. OWOS and Social Constructivism3. OWOS and Conceptual Relativism4. OWOS and the Selection Problem5. The Fundamental Laws Solution6. The Mathematics Solution7. The Radio Solution8. The Common Conditions Solution9. The Intractability of the Selection Problem10. The Superfluity of OWOS
Argument (complex analysis) · Converse · Epistemology · Fallacy · Political science · Prima facie · Rebuttal · Selection (genetic algorithm) · Sociology · Computer Science · Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution · Evolution and Science Education · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |