History of the extraterrestrial life debate: Difference between revisions

Although the dispute was not specifically about extraterrestrial life, the outcome kickstarted it. As there was a conflict between atomists and Aristotelians back in ancient Greece, and the Aristotelians were proved to be wrong, many assumed that this meant that atomists were right and that other worlds were just like Earth. However, the only fact about this that was found at this time was that the stars and the classical planets are not lights but celestial objects analogous to Earth, and that life in them may be plausible, if still unknown.<ref name="Bennet302">Bennet, pp. 30-32</ref> The idea of extraterrestrial life, which was once a radical notion held by limited and specific people, became an accepted idea discussed in college classrooms. The change was also possible because of the changes in religious and philosophical thinking that took place at the time.<ref>Crowe, p. 35</ref>