Would learning about other life forms on distant exoplanets make it easier to answer the question regarding the possible purposefulness or randomness of the origin/emergence of life in the Universe?
Would the knowledge of other forms of life on distant exoplanets make it easier to answer the question of the possible purposefulness or randomness of the origin/emergence of life in the Universe and its development in evolutionary processes lasting millions or billions of years?
Man has been searching for years for a clear answer to the questions concerning the nature and possible purposefulness or randomness of the origin/emergence of life in the Universe and its development in evolutionary processes lasting millions or billions of years. On the other hand, one of the highly debatable issues is the possibility of the existence of other life forms, including other intelligent life forms on exoplanets many millions of light years distant, located in other planetary systems, other constellations, other stellar constellations, in other galaxies. At present, the most perfect instrument for photographing cosmic objects millions or even billions of light years away that man has built so far is the James Webb Space Telescope. Perhaps with the help of this telescope it will be possible to take photographs of distant exoplanets similar to our planet Earth, which exist in other planetary systems at distances from suns that allow life to originate and develop in the form of evolution on them. If man ever manages in this way to unambiguously confirm the existence of other forms of life on distant exoplanets, then, taking into account the number of galaxies in the known Universe numbering in the billions, the potential number of exoplanets with other forms of life on them can then also be estimated in relatively large numbers. If this is the case, then the question of resolving the possible intentionality or randomness of the emergence, or in fact the multiple and independent emergence of life on many exoplanets many millions of light years distant from each other in the known Universe will also significantly change its interpretative character. In view of the above, an affirmative and unambiguous answer to the question regarding the possible intentionality or randomness of the multiple and independent from each other origin of life on various exoplanets that are many millions of light years distant from each other, i.e. in a situation of unambiguous confirmation of the existence of other forms of life on distant exoplanets, the question of the possible expediency or randomness of the multiple emergence of life in the Universe and its development in processes of evolution of various forms of life lasting millions or billions of years repeatedly, and perhaps also the independent, multiple emergence of intelligent forms of life and of the more or less technologically advanced civilisations built by these various intelligent forms of life should be greatly facilitated. Perhaps with the finest telescope yet built, i.e. the James Webb Space Telescope, it will be possible to photograph exoplanets millions of light years away and obtain evidence of the existence of other life forms on these distant exoplanets similar to our planet Earth. And when this has been achieved, then perhaps the answer to the other questions above will already be facilitated.
In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of scientists and researchers:
Would the knowledge of other forms of life on distant exoplanets facilitate the answer to the question concerning the possible expediency or randomness of the origin/emergence of life in the Universe and its development in evolutionary processes lasting millions or billions of years?
What is your opinion on the subject?
Please respond,
I invite you all to discuss,
Thank you very much,
Warm regards,
Dariusz Prokopowicz
Dear Dariusz,
from an astrobiological viewpoint, you are absolutely right: Our discipline famously has so far no more than a single case to study...
I think the answer to your question very much depends on the precise nature of that "second case study" you envisage. If we were to discover it in our "solar backyard", so to speak - such as on Mars, Europa, Enceladus etc. - there probably would still be much debate on the possibility of a panspermic origin. If the find was much further away, however, e.g. made through spectral analysis of an exoplanet's atmosphere, there would in all likelihood be much controversy about the validity and interpretation of the evidence.
So, to really ponder your question, we'd probably need fully UNAMBIGUOUS evidence from an exoplanet (or some other object such as an extrasolar asteroid).
But even if we had such clear-cut, unambiguous evidence for the presence of living systems from, e.g., an exoplanet, the answer to your question would still very much depend on the exact nature of the extraterrestrial life form observed. Just consider, for instance, the difference it would make between discovering fossilized remnants of long-gone microbes in a stone versus receiving an intelligent message or even a physical visit from an advanced civilization!
So, at the end of the day, I am not sure whether we really would be any wiser about the age-old question of purposeful/meaningful versus random origin of life in the cosmos upon discovering a second caee of life outside of ourselves.
Perhaps we really need to delve deeper into the origin of the universe itself to ultimately address the question of the meaning or randomness of the phenomenon we call "life"?
Best,
Julius
Dear Dariusz,
Thank you for raising such an intriguing question about the implications of discovering other forms of life on distant exoplanets. It is indeed a thought-provoking topic that touches upon various aspects of our understanding of the universe and the nature of life.
In my opinion, discovering other forms of life on distant exoplanets could certainly provide valuable insights into the question of whether the origin of life in the universe is purposeful or random. While it may not offer a definitive answer, it could undoubtedly shed light on some crucial aspects.
If we were to find evidence of life on multiple exoplanets, it would suggest that life may not be a unique or isolated phenomenon, but rather a more common occurrence in the universe. This could lead to a greater understanding of the conditions and processes required for life to emerge and evolve, as well as the variety of forms that life can take.
Moreover, the discovery of other life forms, especially those with different biochemistries or evolutionary pathways, could provide new perspectives on the mechanisms driving the emergence and development of life. This information could help us better evaluate whether these processes are influenced by purposeful or random factors.
However, it is important to note that even with the discovery of other forms of life on distant exoplanets, the question of purposefulness or randomness in the origin and evolution of life may still remain open to interpretation. Different perspectives in philosophy, theology, and science may lead to various interpretations of the evidence, and a definitive answer may remain elusive.
In conclusion, while the discovery of other forms of life on distant exoplanets may not provide a clear-cut answer to the question of purposefulness or randomness in the origin and evolution of life in the universe, it would certainly enrich our understanding and stimulate further discussion on this fascinating topic.
I am eager to hear the thoughts of other scientists and researchers on this matter and look forward to a stimulating and insightful discussion.
Warm regards,
Agnieszka Matylda Schlichtinger
I think the answer to this question will be YES, because one of the main difficulties of the problem of the emergence of life on Earth is its - yet? - uniqueness.
This is one of those very deeply rooted questions, which everyone wants to know the answer of. Before answering it, it would be important to briefly review all cards that we humans hold in our hands. Firstly, it is studies of extremophiles in their all forms and shapes. Secondly, it is our theoretical understanding of the very principles of life from the biological point of view. Thirdly, it is our ability to reproduce life-in-silico using advanced computational methods.
This answer is focusing solely on the third case: in-silico simulations of life. Currently, there is developed the software GoL-N24, which is enabling us to search for and design emergent structures within the scope of massively-parallel computing environments, in this particular case, it is cellular automata.
There are already being found some novel emergent structures by the GoL-N24 software that demonstrates multi-level emergent structures similar to those that are common within all life forms. Despite the very primitive simulations carried on at the base-level, certain neighborhood combination in GoL produce emergent structures automatically, almost always from random initial conditions.
This gives us an understanding of the simplicity of basal interactions among huge amount of simple constituting parts that leads to complexity. There are many open questions in this stream of thought, which are covered in my last publication and in the forthcoming one even in greater detail. Very crudely explained, is fascinating to observe simplicity giving rise to complexity and emergent structures that maintain their existence and are even under some conditions self-repair damages inflicted to them.
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References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365477118_Exploring_emergence_Python_program_GoL-N24_simulating_the_'Game_of_Life'_using_8_neighbors_from_24_possible
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361818826_Robust_massive_parallel_information_processing_environments_in_biology_and_medicine_case_study
One simulation produced by the GoL-N24 Python software, see the link in the previous answer, where two-level (multi-scale) emergents are spontaneoulsy arising from almost any randomly chosen intial conditions.
When we think about this simulation from the biological point of view, life-like processes are easy to make when we know how.
In my opinion, yes, learning about other forms of life on distant exoplanets would be important to the question of defining the essence of life, the millions of years-long process of evolution of life taking place not only on planet Earth, including determining the possible expediency or randomness of the origin of life in the Universe. Probably an important issue is also to clarify whether if there are other forms of life on many exoplanets many millions of light years away, then whether on some of these exoplanets there are also other intelligent life forms and whether they have created some form of organized civilization.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Please answer,
I invite everyone to join the discussion,
Thank you very much,
Best wishes,
Dariusz Prokopowicz
What an interesting question.
Yes, the further we look, I would expect it to broaden our perspective of finding relevant data.