Whereas questions regarding the rationality of Artificial Intelligence (AI) belong more properly to the philosophy of mind known as epistemology, questions regarding the rationality of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI) belong more properly to the philosophy of being known as metaphysics. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, or how we know what we know. Metaphysics is the study of being or reality – that which is or exists; the real.
In the book Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith, the theologian Paul Thigpen asks: Are we alone in the universe with God and the angels? Thigpen answers, “That possibility seems to me unlikely. I believe the existence of ETI is highly probable.” Echoing the challenge of others, Thigpen then asks: Can we be quite sure?
Prominent people such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, John Chrysostom, Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, C. S. Lewis, and John Paul II all speculated about extraterrestrial life and/or extraterrestrial intelligence. Thigpen’s book contains many other examples and historical details to support his belief in the existence of ETI. The focus of his book is on addressing the following questions:
- What have Catholic and other Christian thinkers throughout history had to say about the possibility of ETI?
- Which passages in Scripture and in the teaching of the Church might shed light on the topic?
- Are alleged human encounters with ETI simply a form of demonic deception and manipulation?
- Is belief in ETI compatible with the teaching of the Church?
- What would be the possibilities for the spiritual and moral status of an extraterrestrial intelligent race?
- What relationship might these possible forms of ETI have to Jesus Christ, His incarnation, His redemptive work, and His final appearance in glory as Lord and Judge?
- Would a public ETI discovery, disclosure, or encounter be a threat to the faith of Catholics and other Christians, or would it have the potential to clarify and confirm our faith?
- How should the Church prepare for the possibility of public ETI discovery, disclosure, or encounter, and how should the Church respond to such an event?
- If we were to experience a public encounter with ETI, with an ongoing conversation, what relevant questions, with theological implications, would need to be answered about their nature, their moral status, and their intentions toward us?
In closing, Thigpen states, “Many Catholics and other Christians may never have considered these questions to be important. They may never have considered them at all. Yet they do have significant implications.”
~ Boethius ~