The Challenging History Of Other Earths

This paper provides an overview of recent historical research regarding scientifically-informed challenges to the idea that the stars are other suns orbited by other inhabited earths — an idea that came to be known as “the Plurality of Worlds”.

IMAGE – Frontispice of Fontenelle’s Entretiens Sur la Pluralité Des Mondes (1686)

Johannes Kepler in the seventeenth century, Jacques Cassini in the eighteenth, and William Whewell in the nineteenth each argued against “pluralism” based on what in their respective times was solid science.

Nevertheless, pluralism remained popular despite these and other scientific challenges. This history will be of interest to the astronomical community so that it is better positioned to avoid difficulties should the historical trajectory of pluralism continue, especially as it persists in the popular imagination.

Comments: 17 pages, 6 figures. Posted to arXiv 6+ months after publication, in accordance with Cambridge University Press & Assessment “Licence to Publish” regarding “accepted manuscript”

Christopher M. Graney

Subjects: History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2409.11349 [physics.hist-ph] (or arXiv:2409.11349v1 [physics.hist-ph] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2409.11349
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Journal reference: International Journal of Astrobiology, Volume 22, Issue 6, December 2023, pp. 729 – 738
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550423000174
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Submission history
From: Christopher Graney
[v1] Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:53:40 UTC (1,824 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.11349

Astrobiology,