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I would contend that aggression in any species is a tool of survival and is selected for in evolution.
That is assuming that evolution is a fact!
I don't want to turn this into a thread that belongs in the religious forums but I would contend that God did not create such a vast and beautiful universe and then leave it void of all life!
I also would contend that if there is other intelligent life .. Man is the only life (intelligent) that fell from grace!
That is certainly a common scenario in Hollywood movies but we know the written history of man is very short when compared to his total existence and Hollywood is very idealistic. I would contend that aggression in any species is a tool of survival and is selected for in evolution. The fact that each year we have more and more laws to control aggressive behavior may say something about its suppression in a civilized world but in terms of raw survival, aggression logically would assist a species' survival. However, just for example we say aggression is deleterious to a species survival and the behavior is slowing disappearing in Homo sapiens, it would still seem rather naive for a lower life form to think it will be met with hugs and kisses by a vastly far-more advanced species. Aggression is not just intraspecific but is also interspecific which is, I assume, what we are talking about with aliens and humans.
And too, we should remember that these aliens may not have seen any Spielberg movies.
It's obvious why Hollywood would have aggressive aliens, it would be boring if they came with open arms in the films. Also, the researchers who look for extraterrestrial life have mentioned that more advanced races would get their energy from Stars (level 1 if I'm not mistaken; there are 3 levels), so that our planet would have nothing they want. I'm not saying that all alien races would be benevolent either but I don't think they would all want to harm us. Although, there is a researcher who agrees with you; Stephen Hawkings thinks we should be cautious an attempting to contact other life. He used the history of Europeans treatment of Native Americans in the New World as an example of how more technologically advanced races can and sometimes subjugate less advanced ones.
I don't want to turn this into a thread that belongs in the religious forums but I would contend that God did not create such a vast and beautiful universe and then leave it void of all life!
I also would contend that if there is other intelligent life .. Man is the only life (intelligent) that fell from grace!
There was a man (Bruno, can't recall his last name) in the 1700s who had a similar idea. However, he believed that half of the civilizations of the Universe had fallen from grace while the other half did not. I know he was burned at the stake by the Church though I don't know how much that theory of his contributed to his death.
I won't agree or disagree with how one feels on this subject. Just have imput from things i have learned from certain people that work in a certain field.
I have heard from certain people that yes they have seen UFO'S and that the info has been documented. Can't say yes and i can't say no, just what i have been told. So much is still secretive.
I doubt what i have been told is a lie, because of the field these gentlemen work in.
I can't believe myself though in this great big vast universe, that we would be the only lifeform.
If these sort of people or ailens do exist, they have to be much more intelligent then us humans believe me.
Maybe they could teach us a thing or two.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on all subject matter, and none of us are experts.
I don't want to turn this into a thread that belongs in the religious forums but I would contend that God did not create such a vast and beautiful universe and then leave it void of all life!
Nor do I but creation can certainly be another assumption and one, btw, that I subscribe to. I do feel that our logic is useful in considerations of what God would do or not do since we are supposedly created in his image. In this respect, my logic also tells me God could have just have easily created a universe with a single planet with intelligent life just as he could have created "billions and billions." Either belief is pure conjecture but both befit a logic designed and given to us by God.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrClose
I also would contend that if there is other intelligent life .. Man is the only life (intelligent) that fell from grace!
As a believing Christian, I totally agree.
My arguments using evolution as a premise are simply because I understand that it is the accepted scientific bases for the formation and adaptation of life and the question had been offered to me suggesting evolution as a premise as to why aliens would not be aggressive.
It's obvious why Hollywood would have aggressive aliens, it would be boring if they came with open arms in the films. Also, the researchers who look for extraterrestrial life have mentioned that more advanced races would get their energy from Stars (level 1 if I'm not mistaken; there are 3 levels), so that our planet would have nothing they want. I'm not saying that all alien races would be benevolent either but I don't think they would all want to harm us. Although, there is a researcher who agrees with you; Stephen Hawkings thinks we should be cautious an attempting to contact other life. He used the history of Europeans treatment of Native Americans in the New World as an example of how more technologically advanced races can and sometimes subjugate less advanced ones.
Yes, I recall what Stephen Hawking recently said about possible human/alien encounters. His use of early European and Native American contact results certainly seem logical but adding super-intelligent extraterrestrials to the scenario could make that logic an ill fit. Who knows.
No one really knows what sort of events would follow an alien/human encounter. I have always entertained the thought that it could be like a human stepping across an ant bed with the intelligence levels of both species advanced corresponding upward until the ants could reason. Even with the advanced intelligence, would the ants even be aware of the human especially if the humans had mastered super-stealth technologies?
It's neat stuff to think about but my opinions and ideas are just that, opinions and ideas.
I won't agree or disagree with how one feels on this subject. Just have imput from things i have learned from certain people that work in a certain field.
I have heard from certain people that yes they have seen UFO'S and that the info has been documented. Can't say yes and i can't say no, just what i have been told. So much is still secretive.
I doubt what i have been told is a lie, because of the field these gentlemen work in.
I can't believe myself though in this great big vast universe, that we would be the only lifeform.
If these sort of people or ailens do exist, they have to be much more intelligent then us humans believe me.
Maybe they could teach us a thing or two.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on all subject matter, and none of us are experts.
Why do people automatically say that if there are other life forms that they are definitely smarter and way beyond us? What makes you guys say this? What proof actually exists to make this statement? It is also possible that we are the ONLY life forms with intelligence. It's a possibility that can't be ignored. Actually if you think about it, there is no proof of life anywhere else that we have found yet, so as it stands, we are the most intelligent being in the universe.
Why do people automatically say that if there are other life forms that they are definitely smarter and way beyond us? What makes you guys say this? What proof actually exists to make this statement? It is also possible that we are the ONLY life forms with intelligence. It's a possibility that can't be ignored. Actually if you think about it, there is no proof of life anywhere else that we have found yet, so as it stands, we are the most intelligent being in the universe.
I don't think people are automatically say there are extraterrestrial life forms. Carl Sagan simply latched onto a stream of logic that people had not considered out loud before, e.g., lots of space equals lots of life and lots of life equals lots of intelligent life. Unfortunately Sagan had never spent any time out here on the High Plains where the lots of space does not automatically equate to lots of intelligent life.
Hmmm? Did I just call myself stupid?
Last edited by High_Plains_Retired; 09-08-2011 at 01:51 PM..
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