[asa] [Asa] Rare Earth hypothesis (and it's theological implication)

From: Johan Jammart <j_jammart@yahoo.fr>
Date: Wed Jan 31 2007 - 14:27:51 EST

I need again your good scientific minds on a subject :-) Rare Earth hypothesis (and it's theological implication).


I would like your advice first on the Rare Earth hypothesis:

In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis asserts that the emergence of complex multicellular life (metazoa) on Earth required an extremely unlikely combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances. The Rare Earth hypothesis is explained in detail in the book Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe, by Peter Ward, a geologist and paleontologist, and Donald Brownlee, an astronomer and astrobiologist.

The Rare Earth hypothesis is the contrary of the principle of mediocrity (also called the Copernican principle), whose best known recent advocates include Carl Sagan and Frank Drake. The principle of mediocrity maintains that the Earth is a typical rocky planet in a typical planetary system, located in an unexceptional region of a large but conventional barred-spiral galaxy. Ward and Brownlee argue to the contrary: planets, planetary systems, and galactic regions that are as friendly to complex life as are the Earth, the solar system, and our region of the Milky Way are probably extremely rare. If so, the Earth could be the only place in the Milky Way, and perhaps even in the entire universe, featuring complex life.

If complex life can evolve only on an Earth-like planet, then the Rare Earth hypothesis solves the Fermi paradox (Webb 2002): "If extraterrestrial aliens exist, why aren't they obvious?"

The rest of this article is available on wikipedia (yes I know wikipedia is not an optimal source of good informations but this article is well balanced)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis

Do you agree or disagree with this hypothesis?

Now i would like to enter the theological aspect of  the Rare Earth hypothesis:

Either

1)  God have have let the planetary system evolve freely and our solar system is a product of randomness... as well the earth. Life and biological have adapted to the condition of our solar system and the earth. When God made the big bang He knew the entire Universe would be fertile and that due to necessity and chance life would finally developed.

or

2) God had intervene in the formation of our solar system and the earth so life would naturally evolved on our planet (which is fertile)

What do you think?

I would like to express my gratitude to every person who had already answered some of my posts on the list. Thank you so much! Your help is really much appreciate!

Blessings,

Johan

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