Er, I mean, why is it presumed without any evidence that one exists, but not the other, and use this as a basis for large scientific research projects? I’m not trying to be snarky, and I realize that the first answer will be “because we exist, it is possible for other life to exist”… I may offer in reply that because our dimension exists, another dimension may exist.
Note 1: Please notice that I used the small “g” in “god” very purposefully, so as to not restrict it to the Abrahamic God as Westerners so frequently do.
Note 2: Personally, I think they have equal odds, based on what we know now. Neither can be proven or disproven. But I want to hear your arguments.
Well, to do that first you need to define what “god” is, which is different for everyone. I thought I made the question pretty clear, but as usual on the SDMB not one comment can pass without nitpicking at every word.
Perhaps because the aliens are on the same “level” as us, metaphysically speaking, and as such can be detected? If there is a god, it would be on a different plane–I guess you could say another dimension, existing concurrently with ours–and could be invisible to all of our equipment. If you believe that god is tied up in the structure of the universe itself, how would you begin to parse out the parts of the universe which are god and the parts which are not?
I suppose aliens could also exist in the seventh dimension or be independent entities tied up in the fabric of the universe. But in that case, wouldn’t they cease to be other life forms and become gods themselves? At least, from our perspective.
I say other beings may exist in the universe because other planets exist in the universe. Beings need planets (at first). Dimensions don’t need anything (that we know of) so there is less reason to use the fact that our dimension exists as an indicator of other dimensions existing.
(a) Until this century, a great deal of science was about trying to find proof of god, and understanding his creation; so I don’t think that the fifty year of thinking about ways to find aliens outweighs the many centuries devoted to learning more about god
(b) finding evidence of extraterrestrial life merely follows in the tradition of trying to find life in remote places on earth (the Galapagos, undersea vents, etc.); finding god is innately different
I didn’t read it that way. I thought the OP meant that using the argument “because one thing exists, other versions of that thing could exist” should be applied equally (e.g. we should search for other dimensions).
Well, life is made up of basic components (which are real). A lot of these components, found on Earth, can also be found on other planets (also real). The possibility of these components coming together to form life, or at one time having formed life on other planets is a likely possibility. “God, or god”, is a story, a mythology, in my opinion. With no factual history of existing, or having ever existed. Therefore, in these current times, it only makes sense to prove other life forms exist, rather then a story. We know life exists 100%. We have a better chance at finding it in a universe full of darkness. What do we know about gods other then what is said in books?
Since this thread is still not locked, I’ll give another answer:
We’re not really looking for aliens, per se. We’re really just looking for other people. We think we know how to find other people (they need to live on planets that have liquid water; they give off copious amounts of radio waves from their communications activities; they want to talk and listen to other people; etc.). If aliens don’t do any of these things, we aren’t going to find them.
On the other hand, we have no idea of how to look for God. If you can propose a viable means of contacting Him, I suggest you apply for a grant, and get ready for your Nobel prize.
The problem with this is, is that we as humans on Earth have only experienced radio waves for about 100 +/- years. Now consider how long the universe is estimated to have existed. Billions of years? One hundred years is miniscule to billions. And if there were intelligent life out there, we have no way of knowing of which time slot they’ve existed in those billions of years. And then you gotta wonder if that form of intelligent life has even discovered radio communications. So, just because we cannot pick up on radio signals, doesn’t mean intelligent life doesn’t exist. Or say we did pick up on something, how far away are the signals coming from? I don’t know how fast radio communications travel, or if they could even travel far. But if we got a “hello” message from a planet one hundred million light years away, the message could be 100,000,000 years old. Does that make any sense?