The question of whether there is life on other planets has preoccupied humankind since ancient times. From the earliest surviving philosophical musings on the subject, we can trace a line of development through cultural history to the first works of the science fiction genre and, finally, to modern space technology. Thinking about extraterrestrials has proven to be an extremely productive source of inspiration for philosophical, literary, and natural scientific innovation.
The space technology breakthroughs of the 20th century and the accompanying intercultural space euphoria placed human considerations of extraterrestrial intelligences on a new footing. What mankind had now achieved, an extraterrestrial species could perhaps have achieved before: leaving their own home planet and venturing into the vastness of space. However, such ideas were also inspired by a completely different set of topics: the famous sighting of ‘flying saucers’ by Kenneth Arnold in 1947 marked the birth of the modern UFO phenomenon. Although the term ‘UFO’ (unidentified flying object) in the true sense of the word merely refers to an unexplained observation in the sky, today it is inextricably associated with ideas of extraterrestrial spaceships.
Various discoveries and findings in astrophysics, astronomy and astrobiology over the last two decades make it seem more likely than ever that the Earth is not the only inhabited planet and that humanity may not be the only intelligent species in the universe. Regardless of this, the UFO topic has been (re-)legitimized both politically and scientifically in recent years.
Against the backdrop of these developments, the thematic focus “Extraterrestrials and UFOs” at IGPP is dedicated to three key questions:
