Faithin Omaha eBook Collection

Download or read book Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology written by Kelly C. Smith and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-04-13 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book focuses on the emerging scientific discipline of astrobiology, exploring the humanistic issues of this multidisciplinary field. To be sure, there are myriad scientific questions that astrobiologists have only begun to address. However, this is not a purely scientific enterprise. More research on the broader social and conceptual aspects of astrobiology is needed. Just what are our ethical obligations towards different sorts of alien life? Should we attempt to communicate with life beyond our planet? What is "life" in the most general sense? The current volume addresses these questions by looking at different perspectives from philosophers, historians, theologians, social scientists, and legal scholars. It sets a benchmark for future work in astrobiology, giving readers the groundwork from which to base the continuous scholarship coming from this ever-growing scientific field"--