DOCSLIB.ORG

Modern Geocentrism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Modern Geocentrism Modern Geocentrism A Case Study of Pseudoscience in Astronomy A small group of pseudoscience practitioners called modern geocentrists still suggest that the Earth is in fact the center of the universe. An astronomer examines their ideas and uses them to suggest common properties of pseudoscience purveyors. MATTHEW P. WIESNER stronomy is both an ancient and a rapidly growing production group is currently attempt- ing to get this movie into major the- modern science, and there are many opportunities atres. Modern geocentrism obtained Awithin astronomy to advance human knowledge. But its fifteen minutes of fame when the notable people quoted or involved in astronomy is also a discipline that attracts practitioners of The Principle found out it was a movie pseudoscience who question and spread misinformation about pseudoscience. This included about the science. narrator (and Star Trek: Voyager actress) Kate Mulgrew and scientists Lawrence I present an analysis of one small a book about how the Catholic Church Krauss, Max Tegmark, George Ellis, group of astronomical pseudoscientists, was right to condemn Galileo called and Michio Kaku, who were quoted the modern geocentrists. This group Galileo Was Wrong, the Church Was in the film. purports to show that Copernicus, Gal- Right (Sungenis and Bennett 2014); Modern geocentrism is an idea ileo, Einstein, and many others were in this tome takes up 1,200 pages in developed by a small group of highly fact wrong in their conclusions and that two volumes and was developed from conservative Catholics. Religion is an the Earth is the center of the universe. Sungenis’s 700-page doctoral thesis important part of the argument of the While the impact of this group may be written on geocentrism at Calamus modern geocentrists (as may be noted small, it is a perfect specimen of astro- International University, an unaccred- in the title of the movement’s primary nomical pseudoscience. From quote ited distance learning institution in book). The modern geocentrists divide mining to math avoidance to the ev- the Republic of Vanuatu. There was their arguments into religious argu- er-present conspiracy theories, modern a conference on geocentrism held in ments and scientific arguments. The geocentrism shows us how pseudosci- South Bend, Indiana, in November religious arguments are, in general, that entists operate. By studying these and 2010; there were nine speakers and many passages of the Bible suggest the other groups and teaching about them, about one hundred attendees. Sungenis Sun goes around a stationary Earth and we can show students and the public recently followed up with a popu- many popes of the Catholic Church what not to do and how to recognize lar-science version of his book called stated that the Earth is in the center pseudoscience. Geocentrism 101 (Sungenis 2014). This of the universe. Considering that most year Sungenis, producer Rick Delano, astronomers (and thus most people) What Is Modern Geocentrism? and their group have finished a movie thought the Earth was the center of the universe until the seventeenth century, Modern geocentrism is the idea that on geocentrism titled The Principle, neither of these things is surprising. the heliocentric theory developed by about the Copernican principle, the Copernicus, Galileo, and many others idea that Earth is not in a special is in fact wrong and the Earth is the place in the universe. This is closely The Basic Scientific Premises of Modern center of the universe. It is spearheaded related to the cosmological principle, Geocentrism by a man named Robert Sungenis, the idea that the universe is about The basic scientific premise of modern who holds degrees in theology. The the same everywhere and there are geocentrism is that the cosmological major work on modern geocentrism is no special places in the universe. His principle is wrong and that there is 50 Volume 39 Issue 1 | Skeptical Inquirer a preferred place in the universe, the that physics could allow this. Sungenis tromagnetic waves propagated, the lu- Earth. They suggest that if we throw begins his book Geocentrism 101 with mineferous aether. Since there was no out the cosmological principle, phys- the statement, “Unbeknownst to almost difference in travel time, there was no ics will still work, just with the Earth the entire human race is the fact that evidence of aether. Sungenis suggests forming the center of the universe. no one in all of human history has ever that this is evidence that the Earth is As part of throwing out this principle, proven the Earth moves in space” (Sun- not moving. He then spends time ex- though, they also end up throwing out genis 2014). plaining why Einstein was wrong about the vast majority of physics, includ- Sungenis then goes through the both the special and the general theo- ing the standard model of cosmology, many different pieces of evidence that ries of relativity. There is quite a bit of special and general relativity, quantum indicate the motion of the Earth and conspiracy theory in these chapters, mechanics, and more. Their position is attempts to find a reason he doesn’t accusing Einstein, scientists behind that Einstein and others were in fact have to believe the Earth is moving. the global positioning system (GPS), really smart, but they were blinded by Of course as philosopher of science and others with hiding the truth. Sun- their conviction that the Earth is not Karl Popper tells us, if you don’t want genis also rather blithely claims that the center of the universe. They pro- something to be true, you will find a lumineferous aether exists, without pose that these scientists were mate- way to interpret the facts to support giving much information on its nature. rialists who didn’t like the religious your belief (Popper 1963), which is ex- (In Galileo Was Wrong, he explains that implications of a geocentric universe. actly what the geocentrists do. For ex- aether causes gravity.) Sungenis doesn’t The modern geocentrists propose that the reason the Sun rises and sets and the stars rise and set is that the entire universe revolves around Earth once a day. Einstein and others failed to see the ample, the Foucault pendulum changes spend any time addressing the fact that right answer because of their innate its direction of oscillation continuously special relativity is critical to much of biases and therefore pretty much all of throughout the day due to the rotation modern technology, including most modern physics is wrong. of the Earth. Sungenis counters and high-energy physics experiments. The modern geocentrists propose says that he can achieve the same effect Chapter 8 of Geocentrism 101 begins that the reason the Sun rises and sets if the entire universe is rotating around with the statement, “Ten years after he and the stars rise and set is that the en- the Earth. invented the Special Theory of Rela- tire universe revolves around Earth once Sungenis spends a lot of time on tivity to answer the Michelson-Mor- a day. They indicate that this could the Michelson-Morley experiment, ley experiment, Einstein was forced to be possible if the entire universe were an experiment that showed no differ- invent a second theory to compensate distributed so that Earth is the center ence in light travel time whether light for what the first one lacked.” Using of mass of the universe, perfectly bal- was going parallel or perpendicular to words like invent implies that Einstein anced. They present no observational the motion of the Earth. This exper- was just making things up. This sen- evidence for this balance; they just try iment was looking for evidence of the tence also betrays a deep lack of under- to make the point that it is conceivable medium in which it was believed elec- standing of how the development of Skeptical Inquirer | January/February 2015 51 scientific theories actually works. Sun- has no real conception of how science To support this, he shows several di- genis quotes Einstein to say, “The two works and so he suggests scientists agrams showing locations of galaxies. sentences: ‘the Sun is at rest and the make things up ad hoc and conspire to This is a classic example of the use of Earth moves,’ or ‘the Sun moves and hide evidence about the failings of their plots to misrepresent information. He the Earth is at rest’ would simply mean theories. At the end of this chapter, the shows plots of galaxy distributions two different conventions concerning first few verses of Genesis are quoted in in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the two different coordinate systems” large text. shows how Earth is in the center. Well, (Sungenis 2014). In other words, Ein- In Chapter 10, Sungenis discusses of course it is, that’s the point of ob- stein is saying the question of what is in the cosmic microwave background servation. He does the same thing with the center of the universe is not an in- (CMB; light from the big bang). He a plot of quasars by redshift, showing has already indicated that the big bang a void in the center where Earth is. theory is fake, so it is surprising that he Again, this is what you’d expect, since makes no explanation for the origin of quasars do not occur at low redshift. the CMB; he simply uses it to prove The book closes with a quote from the his arguments. Sungenis describes the New Testament, applying it to us sci- Like most pseudoscien- CMB experiment called the Cosmic entists as “. those who suppress the tists, Sungenis is Background Explorer (COBE): “. truth by their wickedness.” uncomfortable with COBE showed that not only was a significant portion of the universe’s The Properties of Pseudoscience as math and likes to claim radiation anisotropic and inhomoge- Shown by Modern Geocentrism neous, but also that it was distributed that math lies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Debate Over Justification by Faith: Evangelicals and Catholics
    Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 20:1-2 (2009):112-146. Article copyright © 2009 by Norman R. Gulley. Debate Over Justification by Faith: Evangelicals and Catholics Norman R. Gulley Southern Adventist University 1. Biblical Understanding of Justification by Faith Paul says “they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24, RSV), for “a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28 RSV), with even faith a gift (Rom 10:17). Humans are “justified by his blood” (Rom 5:9, ESV). Calvary was the “one act of righteousness” which “leads to justification and life for all men” (Rom 5:18b, ESV). “God made him [Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Justification is found in Christ, and is received by faith. This has nothing to do with Christ’s faithfulness in the covenant which continues human membership in the covenant, as proposed by “New Perspectives on Paul” scholarship. Justification explains how one gets in (not how one stays in) the covenant. Justification is an entry level reality, having to do with how one is saved. The word justify in Hebrew (hitsdiq) and Greek (dikaioun) “never refer to the infusion of righteousness, that is the transformation of someone from being ungodly to being virtuous.” Justification is the same throughout humans’ history, in old and new covenant periods, because it is about the one eternal gospel (Rev 14:6).
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 28, Number 2 Fall 2017
    Volume 28, Number 2 Fall 2017 Homosexuality—An Abomination or Purely Irrelevant?: Evaluating LGBT Claims in Light of the Old Testament (Gen. 18–19; Lev. 18:22; 20:13) MICHAEL A. GRISANTI Is Same-Sex Marriage a Sin? BRYAN MURPHY The Pauline Response to Today’s Sexual and Gender Confusion BRAD KLASSEN WWJD about LGBT?: Evaluating LGBT Claims in Light of Christ’s Teaching MICHAEL RICCARDI Solus Christus and the Protestant Reformation of Europe JONATHAN MOORHEAD TMS.edu Volume 28 Fall 2017 Number 2 The Master’s Seminary Journal CONTENTS Guest Editorial ..................................................................................................... 111-13 F. David Farnell Homosexuality—An Abomination or Purely Irrelevant?: Evaluating LGBT Claims in Light of the Old Testament (Gen. 18–19; Lev. 18:22; 20:13) .......................................................................... 115-33 Michael A. Grisanti Is Same-Sex Marriage a Sin? .............................................................................. 135-44 Bryan Murphy The Pauline Response to Today’s Sexual and Gender Confusion ..................... 145-66 Brad Klassen WWJD about LGBT?: Evaluating LGBT Claims in Light of Christ’s Teaching ................................................................................................. 167-80 Michael Riccardi Solus Christus and the Protestant Reformation of Europe ................................. 181-200 Jonathan Moorhead Reviews ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Old Testament Salvation—From What? RENÉ A
    Journal of the GRACE Evangelical Society “Faith Alone In Christ Alone” Journal of the GRACE Evangelical Society Volume 16 Autumn 2003 Number 31 Journal of the GRACE EVANGELICAL SOCIETY “Faith Alone in Christ Alone” VOLUME 16 AUTUMN 2003 NUMBER 31 A Response to Robert Sungenis’s Not by Faith Alone EDITOR 3-16 TULIP: A Free Grace Perspective Part 2: Unconditional Election ANTHONY B. BADGER 17-42 The Gospel Under Siege JEREMY D. MYERS 43-48 Old Testament Salvation—From What? RENÉ A. LOPEZ 49-64 The Marrow Controversy MICHAEL D. MAKIDON 65-77 Book Reviews 79-88 Periodical Reviews 89-95 Journal of the GRACE EVANGELICAL SOCIETY Published Semiannually by GES Editor Robert N. Wilkin Production Michael Makidon Cathy Beach Manuscripts, periodical and book reviews, and other communications should be addressed to Michael Makidon, GES, P.O. Box 155018, Irving TX 75015-5018. Journal subscriptions, renewals, and changes of address should be sent to the Grace Evangelical Society, P.O. Box 155018, Irving, TX 75015-5018. You may call us at (972) 257-1160, fax to (972) 255-3884, or E-mail to [email protected]. Subscription Rates: single copy, $7.50 (U.S.); 1 year, $15.00; 2 years, $28.00; 3 years, $39.00; 4 years, $48.00 ($10.00 for active full- time student members). Please include $3.50 per year for shipping ($10 per year for international orders). Members of GES receive the Journal at no additional charge beyond the membership dues of $15.00 plus shipping. Purpose: The Grace Evangelical Society was formed “to promote the clear proclamation of God’s free salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, which is properly correlated with and distinguished from issues related to disciple- ship.” Statement of Faith: “Jesus Christ, God incarnate, paid the full penalty for man’s sin when He died on the Cross of Calvary.
    [Show full text]
  • Executive Producer Robert Sungenis Addressing Accusations of Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial
    Source: Stellar Motion pictures, LLC January 29, 2015 13:30 ET Statement From "The Principle" Executive Producer Robert Sungenis Addressing Accusations of Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Principle is the first-ever film devoted to examining and questioning a widely accepted scientific concept that has defined mankind's place in the cosmos: The Copernican Principle. However, members of the media have ignored the artistic merits of the film and its science- based arguments to instead voice baseless accusations of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial against its executive producer, Robert Sungenis. What follows is a statement from Robert Sungenis addressing these slanderous allegations as well as a statement from writer/producer Rick DeLano. Statement of Robert Sungenis regarding Anti-Semitism and accusations of Holocaust Denial: "My career is that of a theologian. For over twenty years I have examined, questioned and critiqued every religion including Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, and even my own religion, Catholicism. But that makes me no more anti-Semitic than it makes me anti-Catholic. Unfortunately, some of my past comments have been taken out of their political or religious context and have been mistakenly or maliciously applied as some personal animus toward the Jewish people at large. Let me state this clearly, and, I hope, for the last time: I am not now, nor ever have been, nor ever could have been, anti-Semitic. I do not, nor have ever, denied the tragic and unforgettable occurrence of the Holocaust or its impact on the Jewish people. The Principle deserves to be judged on its own technical and artistic merits and not be prejudiced by appeals to racial divides.
    [Show full text]
  • Neo-Nazi Named Jeffrey Harbin Was End Birthright Citizenship
    SPECIAL ISSUE IntelligencePUBLISHED BY SPRING 2011 | ISSUE 141 THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTERReport THE YEAR IN HATE & EXTREMISM HATE GROUPS TOP 1000 Led by antigovernment ‘Patriot’ groups, the radical right expands dramatically for the second year in a row EDITORIAL The Arizonification of America BY MARK POTOK, EDITOR when even leading conser- As we explain in this issue, this dramatic growth of the rad- vatives worry out loud about the ical right for the second consecutive year is related to anger right-wing vitriol and demoniz- over the changing racial make-up of the country, the ailing ing propaganda so commonplace in economy and the spreading of demonizing propaganda and contemporary America, you’ve got other kinds of hate speech in the political mainstream. to be concerned about where our The white-hot political atmosphere is not limited to hard- country is headed. line nativist politicians, conspiracy-mongering cable news This January, former President hosts, or even openly radical hate groups. During the same George W. Bush, speaking in a month when most of these conservative commentaries were question-and-answer session written, the nation witnessed an extraordinary series of at Texas’ Southern Methodist events that highlighted the atmosphere of political extremism. University, warned that the nation seemed to be reliving its On Jan. 8, a Tucson man opened fire in a parking lot on worst anti-immigrant moments. “My point is, we’ve been U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat of Arizona, killing six through this kind of period of isolationism, protectionism, people, critically wounding the congresswoman and badly nativism” before, he said.
    [Show full text]
  • Jews and Judaism in the Political Theology of Radical Catholic Traditionalists
    Jews and Judaism in the Political Theology of Radical Catholic Traditionalists Mark Weitzman ABSTRACT The controversies over Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson, and earlier over Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, have given prominence to radical Catholic traditionalists and their growing influence. The recent pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI saw a great investment of political capital seeking reconciliation with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), yet this effort failed, in great part due to the antisemitism that permeates the Society. Williamson and the Holocaust deniers are often represented as isolated individual representatives of the radical traditionalists, especially after Williamson’s expulsion from the SSPX. In reality it can be argued that the radical traditionalist movement is based upon classical supercessionist theology and that there has often been an effort to cloak this theology from public view. I will trace its roots from Europe to the United States, focusing on Father Charles Coughlin, the “radio priest” whose audience stretched into the millions before World War II; and the Irish priest, Denis Fahey, the theologian most quoted by Coughlin, whose influence continues to be strong in those circles today. I will also survey connections with far right extremists and neo-Nazis and demonstrate the shared Holocaust denial and classical theological antisemitism that link these groups and threatens to negate the gains made since Vatican II that have nurtured the Jewish-Catholic relationship over the past 45 years. Finally, we will assess some of the possible implications of this trend for the future of Jewish-Catholic relations, particularly after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis.
    [Show full text]
  • Debate Over Justification by Faith: Evangelicals and Catholics
    Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 20:1-2 (2009):112-146. Article copyright © 2009 by Norman R. Gulley. Debate Over Justification by Faith: Evangelicals and Catholics Norman R. Gulley Southern Adventist University 1. Biblical Understanding of Justification by Faith Paul says “they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24, RSV), for “a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom 3:28 RSV), with even faith a gift (Rom 10:17). Humans are “justified by his blood” (Rom 5:9, ESV). Calvary was the “one act of righteousness” which “leads to justification and life for all men” (Rom 5:18b, ESV). “God made him [Christ] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Justification is found in Christ, and is received by faith. This has nothing to do with Christ’s faithfulness in the covenant which continues human membership in the covenant, as proposed by “New Perspectives on Paul” scholarship. Justification explains how one gets in (not how one stays in) the covenant. Justification is an entry level reality, having to do with how one is saved. The word justify in Hebrew (hitsdiq) and Greek (dikaioun) “never refer to the infusion of righteousness, that is the transformation of someone from being ungodly to being virtuous.” Justification is the same throughout humans’ history, in old and new covenant periods, because it is about the one eternal gospel (Rev 14:6).
    [Show full text]
  • Does the Universe Revolve Around
    Does the Universe Revolve around Me? A Critical Review of the Geocentrism Documentary The Principle In 2014, a group that believes Earth does not orbit the Sun released a documentary called The Principle. What’s their science like? MATTHEW P. WIESNER n the January/February 2015 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, I presented an article about the modern geocentrism Imovement (“Modern Geocentrism: A Case Study of Pseudoscience in Astronomy”). I mentioned that geo- centrists had produced a movie titled The Principle. This movie brought more attention to the geocentrists than they had previously experienced, with media outlets from Popular Science (Lecher 2014) to Slate (Krauss 2014) to NPR (Neuman 2014) reporting on the movie. The news media were interested because the producers of the movie had managed to include interviews with noted scientists such as Lawrence Krauss and George Ellis, but these sci- entists (as well as narrator Kate Mulgrew) later indicated they had been deceived into participating. This movie was released in October 2014 and had a to direct and produce the movie. as a feature film questioning current very limited theatrical run. It was re- Robert Sungenis holds a master’s cosmology, especially the eponymous leased on DVD on December 8, 2015. degree in theology and is the founder Copernican Principle. The Coperni- In this article, I give a brief overview of of an organization called Catholic can Principle says that Earth is not in the backstory behind the development Apologetics International. Sungenis a privileged location in the universe. of The Principle, summarize the movie’s did not invent the idea that Copernicus Another principle—the Cosmological main points, and critically analyze the was wrong and the universe is in fact Principle—is a related but more gen- science presented.
    [Show full text]
  • Why the Universe Does Not Revolve Around the Earth Refuting Absolute Geocentrism by Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati
    Why the Universe does not revolve around the Earth Refuting absolute geocentrism by Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati Published: 12 February 2015 (GMT+10) Introduction Questions about how the universe works are not always easy to answer. For Table of contents many centuries most people (scientists and philosophers included) thought Introduction the earth was at its center and that the planets, moon, sun, and stars Phenomenological Language revolved around us. This is called “geocentrism” or the “geocentric view of Logic and Science the universe”. It took years of painstaking work, spread out over multiple The Greeks centuries, to show that this was false as an absolute claim. Today, we accept The Church Fathers a “geokinetic” (moving­earth) view based on the work of Newton and The Middle Ages Einstein. For the student of history and/or science, how we came to the Was heliocentrism the result of modern view is an amazing exploration of how things work and a testimony Hermetic paganism? to the amazing ability to reason that God uniquely put into people. Did the Church suppress geokinetic theory? We live in a created universe, meaning its existence did not come about A Timeline of Events (a fun romp through naturalistic processes alone. We also live in a well­ordered universe; through modern history) meaning it behaves according to a set of rules. This is consistent with it Copernicus being created by an ultimate Lawgiver, who is not fickle and acts in a What is Parallax? consistent manner, according to His very nature Galileo (c.f. 1 Corinthians 14:33, James 1:17) .
    [Show full text]
  • Galileo Was Wrong the Church Was Right
    Galileo Was Wrong The Church Was Right The Evidence from Church History Volume III Chapters 14 - 17 Seventh Edition Robert A. Sungenis, Ph.D. Published by Catholic Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2013 Mailing address: P. O. Box 278 State Line, Pennsylvania, 17263 1-800-531-6393 Copyright © 2013 by Robert A. Sungenis, Sr. and assigns All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right: The Evidence from Church History, Volume III is permitted to be reproduced or copied by any means whatsoever without written consent from the copyright holder, except for short quotations to be used in various print or electronic mediums. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sungenis, Robert, A, Sr. Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right by Robert A. Sungenis Bibliographical reference 1. Geocentrism. 2. Cosmology 3. Church History. 4. Galileo 5. St. Robert Bellermine Cover design by Robert Sungenis Seventh edition Previous five editions, in two volumes, were titled Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right, published between 2005 and 2010. Sixth edition, in three volumes, was published in January 2013. ISBN-10: 1939856035 ISBN-13: 978-1-939856-03-6 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ii Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from either the Revised Standard Version or the Douay-Rheims Bible. Some passages have been translated by Robert Sungenis directly from the Hebrew or Greek. A CDROM is included with this book so that the reader can view the electronic animations and graphics.
    [Show full text]
  • March 31, 2000 Vol
    Inside Archbishop Buechlein . 4, 5 Editorial. 4 From the Archives. 14 Criterion Question Corner . 11 TheCriterion Sunday & Daily Readings. 11 Serving the Church in Central and Southern Indiana Since 1960 www.archindy.org March 31, 2000 Vol. XXXIX, No. 25 50¢ Pope preaches Chicago priest reconciliation named new House chaplain on Holy Land WASHINGTON (CNS)—House Speaker Dennis Hastert named a Catholic pilgrimage priest, Father Daniel Coughlin, as the new House chaplain March 23, ending a four- JERUSALEM (CNS)—With slow but month political quagmire over who would determined steps, Pope John Paul II made get the position. his long-desired pilgrimage to the Holy Father Cough- Land, preaching peace and reconciliation lin, vicar for among the region’s peoples and religions. priests in the From the heights of Mount Nebo in Chicago Arch- Jordan to the shores of the Sea of Galilee in diocese, was Israel, the pope visited holy sites of the Old sworn in by and New Testaments, making dramatic ges- Hastert moments tures of respect for Jews and Muslims and after he pleading for the unity of Christians. announced the Walking carefully through a minefield appointment. of political sensitivities, Pope John Paul Applause for also urged a renewed commitment to the the 65-year-old Middle East peace process, guaranteeing priest belied the the security of Israel but also satisfying Father Daniel Coughlin division that had the Palestinians’ right to a homeland. been building behind the scenes for the The March 20-26 trip culminated in job that requires opening each daily ses- Jerusalem with visits to the city’s holiest sion with a prayer and providing counsel- Muslim, Jewish and Christian sites.
    [Show full text]
  • I “BECAUSE WE ARE ALONE…” ARGUMENTS for HUMANS AS the UNIVERSE’S ONLY INTELLIGENT LIFE FORM from ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS to TODAY’S SCIENTISTS
    “BECAUSE WE ARE ALONE…” ARGUMENTS FOR HUMANS AS THE UNIVERSE’S ONLY INTELLIGENT LIFE FORM FROM ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS TO TODAY’S SCIENTISTS by Joseph Clayton Packer B.A., University of Mary Washington, 2005 M.A., Wake Forest University, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2012i UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Joseph Clayton Packer It was defended on October 31, 2011 and approved by Philip E. Smith, Associate Professor, Department of English Barbara Warnick, Professor, Department of Communication Brent Malin, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Dissertation Advisor: Ronald J. Zboray, Professor, Department of Communication ii Copyright © by Joseph Clayton Packer 2012 iii “BECAUSE WE ARE ALONE…” ARGUMENTS FOR HUMANS AS THE UNIVERSE’S ONLY INTELLIGENT LIFE FORM FROM ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS TO TODAY’S SCIENTISTS Joseph Clayton Packer, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2012 Does alien life exist? This perennial question has driven some of humanity’s oldest scientific debates, going back to the ancient Greeks. My work investigates the way individuals have rhetorically deployed speculations about the impossibility of extraterrestrial life to advance other values and beliefs. Specifically, my research traces the unity-of-the-world cosmology or “unity,” for short, meaning the belief that humans are the only intelligent life form in the universe, in contrast to the “plurality-of worlds” one, or “plurality,” which holds open the possibility of multiple intelligent life forms. The unity rhetorical cosmology connects the absence of alien life with the idea of human value and transcendental, absolute ethics.
    [Show full text]