A reader on the list sent me this URL (see end of article) on a new proposal called
OPEN SETI.
Introduction
Most of our society is as unconcerned with its origins and place in the universe as would be a person wandering in a dream. That is, most individuals are unconcerned, and very few human organizations are devoted to these matters. Society deals with the problems and issues of the moment and of the near future. But there is only a shadowy background of myth to provide any context for it all.
Every ancient society found truth in its myths and modern society is no exception. Individuals within modern society tend to accept as their cosmological truth either what they believe to be the growing knowledge of science as reported by the media or taught by educators, or the scriptures of their religions.
But truth is not so easily attained. The scientific description of our
reality is best understood as the result of a sociological process that has undergone many revolutions and will continue to do so.14 It is never absolute truth nor should we assume that it even approaches absolute truth.
At times it looks more like lurching about than a steady or asymptotic approach to complete knowledge. (For an up-front view of the process, consider the turmoil provoked by recent theories of Intelligent Design that has the potential to undercut the bedrock scientific truth known as "evolution".)
The average person does not have direct access to even such "truth" as science believes it holds--the literature of science--but rather is told about it by media27 and educators who always add their own spin. And those who turn to religious scripture for truth often do not realize that this too is but the end result of sociological and political processes.
People do not understand this. They do not know that they have simply chosen their myth. They believe that they possess knowledge of their general cosmic situation, so far as is possible for anyone to obtain such knowledge, and that there is little point attempting to learn any more about it. People are also being taught, usually subliminally, about what is important and what is
not. In fact, people's beliefs about what is true and what is important are fed to them by society's institutions. Thus people in their beliefs are vulnerable to manipulation at every level.
Given the way in which it comes about, I do not assume that the modern scientific myth of Man's Place in the Cosmos necessarily provides the most accurate depiction. It is only one of many, and there is value in looking at the myths of other cultures - the living ones as well as the extinct. When we do, we find information at variance with the modern myths. We find that some cultures either left for us or have carried forward into our time, a knowledge or a cultural memory of an interface with something "other" - something that gave them information that we in the modern west lack or cannot accept.1
There is another modern myth relating to man's cosmic situation. It is the myth of the UFO. By referring to the topic in this way, I am not implying that "the UFO is not real," any more than by calling the scientific description a myth am I saying that the scientific description is false.
Myths are complex social phenomena and they usually are seeded by something. That "something" is accessed via the myth that has grown around it. Since the "something" behind the UFO myth could have much to do with man's cosmic situation, I suggest the reader give some consideration to that myth.30
This paper, however, touches only peripherally on these alternative myths. Its main focus is on the scientific approach.
Much more on the website...
http://www.zeitlin.net/OpenSETI/Opening.shtml
"...what most people accept today as fundamental scientific knowledge is barely distinguishable from what organized religion became some centuries ago." - Halton Arp
OPEN SETI.
Introduction
Most of our society is as unconcerned with its origins and place in the universe as would be a person wandering in a dream. That is, most individuals are unconcerned, and very few human organizations are devoted to these matters. Society deals with the problems and issues of the moment and of the near future. But there is only a shadowy background of myth to provide any context for it all.
Every ancient society found truth in its myths and modern society is no exception. Individuals within modern society tend to accept as their cosmological truth either what they believe to be the growing knowledge of science as reported by the media or taught by educators, or the scriptures of their religions.
But truth is not so easily attained. The scientific description of our
reality is best understood as the result of a sociological process that has undergone many revolutions and will continue to do so.14 It is never absolute truth nor should we assume that it even approaches absolute truth.
At times it looks more like lurching about than a steady or asymptotic approach to complete knowledge. (For an up-front view of the process, consider the turmoil provoked by recent theories of Intelligent Design that has the potential to undercut the bedrock scientific truth known as "evolution".)
The average person does not have direct access to even such "truth" as science believes it holds--the literature of science--but rather is told about it by media27 and educators who always add their own spin. And those who turn to religious scripture for truth often do not realize that this too is but the end result of sociological and political processes.
People do not understand this. They do not know that they have simply chosen their myth. They believe that they possess knowledge of their general cosmic situation, so far as is possible for anyone to obtain such knowledge, and that there is little point attempting to learn any more about it. People are also being taught, usually subliminally, about what is important and what is
not. In fact, people's beliefs about what is true and what is important are fed to them by society's institutions. Thus people in their beliefs are vulnerable to manipulation at every level.
Given the way in which it comes about, I do not assume that the modern scientific myth of Man's Place in the Cosmos necessarily provides the most accurate depiction. It is only one of many, and there is value in looking at the myths of other cultures - the living ones as well as the extinct. When we do, we find information at variance with the modern myths. We find that some cultures either left for us or have carried forward into our time, a knowledge or a cultural memory of an interface with something "other" - something that gave them information that we in the modern west lack or cannot accept.1
There is another modern myth relating to man's cosmic situation. It is the myth of the UFO. By referring to the topic in this way, I am not implying that "the UFO is not real," any more than by calling the scientific description a myth am I saying that the scientific description is false.
Myths are complex social phenomena and they usually are seeded by something. That "something" is accessed via the myth that has grown around it. Since the "something" behind the UFO myth could have much to do with man's cosmic situation, I suggest the reader give some consideration to that myth.30
This paper, however, touches only peripherally on these alternative myths. Its main focus is on the scientific approach.
Much more on the website...
http://www.zeitlin.net/OpenSETI/Opening.shtml
"...what most people accept today as fundamental scientific knowledge is barely distinguishable from what organized religion became some centuries ago." - Halton Arp
