2014 J.K. Russell Fellowship in Religion and Science with Alex Filippenko, "Life in the Universe, Scientific and Religious Perspectives."
Dinner Board Room, Graduate Theological Union
Research Conference: Life in the Universe: Scientific Perspectives and their Wider Implications
What do we know about the extent of life in the universe? Although the universe is inconceivably vast, is it barren or teeming with life? Dr. Filippenko will argue that while primitive microbial life might be common in the universe, intelligence and mechanical ability at the level of humans is exceedingly rare, perhaps at a rate of only one (with a large uncertainty) intelligent species at a time per galaxy. This conclusion is based on what has happened on Earth, and on the assumption that life originated simply from chemical processes and then evolved. It is clear that primitive life arose on Earth almost as soon as conditions became favorable, that there were many billions of species before humans appeared, and that humans appeared very recently in the evolutionary history of the Earth. The fact that we have seen no evidence of intelligent aliens (the "Fermi paradox") supports the idea that they are rare.
The conference respondents will take up the wider implications of Dr. Filippenko’s conclusions from backgrounds which include the study of biology, physics, philosophy, and theology, and they will discuss both Christian and Muslim perspectives, focusing on the philosophical and theological implications of current views of the scope of life in the universe.