Brief opinion on “About being prepared or not for contact with other civilizations outside the Solar System.”

Certainly, humanity’s concern to know its origin and that of life itself has led it to wonder about its place in the world, and if there are other forms of life or civilizations in the vastness of the infinite cosmos that surrounds us. Tiny but beautiful planet. Humanity has sought throughout history to validate in all possible ways its superiority, perhaps doubtful, over the rest of the species that inhabit planet Earth. And I say doubtful because I consider that this anthropocentric perspective is precisely the first error of any species that dares to call itself civilization. Just as there is a difference between leader and boss, there is also a difference between intelligent species and civilization. In other words, reason and articulate language are not sufficient traits to declare humanity superior, history bears witness to this. There is no doubt that humanity has potential and that every day it grows more in various aspects. However, I consider that in the face of the irresponsibility of their actions towards their environment and the rest of the species, humanity, still in a state of immaturity, has sought in a higher entity such as God or a much more advanced but still unknown species, a justification for the error of being considered the head in the hierarchy of species. This undoubtedly leads us to rethink whether there is indeed what is called “progress” as well as whether it is really possible to think that efficiency in the use of resources can be thought of within a non-destructive coexistence with the ecological environment. In this case, I consider it essential to rethink the political and economic structures on which our species is currently situated. In any case, assuming that this objective could be achieved, the purposes of knowing other planets and possible species should not be their exploitation, but rather their knowledge. The search for other civilizations should not be governed by satiating our existential concerns but rather to better understand our place in the universe and to learn to live in our own world with what surrounds us. If we do not first learn to take care of our home planet, how will we intend to know other spaces in the cosmos.

By: Lic. Cecilia Agustina Bulgarelli, University of Buenos Aires, Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. (@literary_ route).