Note: This article was cited when you look at the New York Times (July 22, 2018) as an intellectual counter to the emerging religion of “Ancient Aliens.”

Into the book The Grand Design (2012), Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow claimed that “philosophy is dead” (p. 5). They wrote: “We exist but for a short while, and essay writer in that time explore but a little the main whole universe. But humans are a species that are curious. We wonder, we seek answers. Staying in this world that is vast is by turns kind and cruel, and gazing in the immense heavens above, folks have always asked a multitude of questions: just how can we understand the world by which we find ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where d > philosophy is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics.” (p. 5).

Of course, philosophy is still alive in academic journals, Amazon books, plus the shrinking philosophy section at the Barnes & Noble bookstores. But, as a force in popular culture, contemporary philosophy is basically dead, primarily since it has did not carry on with with all the discoveries in contemporary cosmology. Into the wake regarding the stunning achievements of this Apollo program therefore the Hubble Space Telescope (just two examples), philosophy has neglected to generate a favorite narrative that is cosmic integrates the origins and destinies regarding the human species to the vast and wondrous cosmos—an expanding universe stretching across 100 billion light years and populated with 2 trillion galaxies and untold variety of stars, planets, lifeforms, and black holes. This death began with all the crash of Apollo 8 and Earthrise.

This cosmic and failure that is philosophical ev >2001: an area Odyssey (1968) and Interstellar (2014), Hollywood populates the expanding universe with endless monsters (ex: the Alien series) and apocalyptic warfare (ex: Star Wars), complimented by very little awe, wonder, and discovery. The Star that is recent Trek are not that different from Star Wars. Here we have been fifty years after Apollo and thirty years following the Hubble telescope, together with dominant ideologies will always be situated in cosmic narcissism and human super-specialness—pretending to be the center of the universe or under the delusion that a Creator or Ancient Aliens are searching out for us.

When you look at the absence of a meaningful space philosophy, the hit television series Ancient Aliens (2010-) has hijacked the cosmic narratives from Apollo and 2001 and claims to explain humanity’s origins and destiny in the universe. In Ancient Aliens, we could see philosophy’s mediated corpse, where an attempted space philosophy and cosmic narrative have crashed and are usually still aflame in the us regarding the History Channel.

Two Val >The ancient-astronaut theory draws upon two val > may are suffering from space travel technologies that enable them to traverse the distances that are great relative ease. at the very least that is the “wormhole” scenario depicted in touch (1997) and Interstellar (2014) . That sa > it is highly unlikely we’ve been visited, precisely since the distances are incredibly vast, the universe is really so gigantic, and our planet is really tiny.

Yet, such a possibility (however slim) is one reasons why 2001 offers such a vision that is compelling of origins and destinies. In the end, it might be an epochal moment to find a black monolith somewhere on Earth or the moon, beaming out a radio signal to an alert and curious species. Such a possibility is extremely attractive to me, at least in theory. Because the astronaut Taylor says in Planet associated with the Apes, “Out there, there has to be something a lot better than man. Needs to be.” Needless to say, if ancient astronauts have visited Earth, they might have possessed technologies that are extremely advanced been viewed as gods, angels, and miracle makers by premodern humans. Much like the apes in 2001, the humans could have looked upon the technologies with amazement and fear. But have any ancient astronauts actually visited Earth?

Where’s the black monolith?

Where’s the equivalent of the monolith that is black 2001 — that single artifact of indisputable extraterrestrial design or origin? Where may be the evidence that is verifiable ancient astronauts or extraterrestrials visited our planet to enlighten our species, perform great deeds, and guide our art, technology, and architecture? Since i do believe extraterrestrial life forms surely exist also it’s possible some could be far more advanced and enlightened than our species, I am ready to accept actual empirical evidence. Unfortunately, most of the ancient-astronaut theorists can point toward is a few mysterious artifacts, none of that can be attached to visitations that are extraterrestrial.

Where are the “Chariots regarding the Gods”?

In my own youth, I watched reruns or VHS tapes of 2001 and Planet for the Apes several times, along with a number of other science-fiction films. I also recall viewing reruns of Chariots for the Gods and Mysteries for the Gods, which aired from the local television station. The shows are currently available on YouTube, and my recent viewings confirmed nearly all of my original memories of them. Both films clearly attempted to connect astronauts that are ancient Apollo and space exploration, utilizing the Voyager space probe and starship Enterprise appearing early in Mysteries for the Gods. Viewing the above films in my youth inspired me to read Chariots for the Gods?, readily available at the time in local bookstores. I viewed the films and see the book with rapt attention, precisely because von Daniken appeared to be providing “evidence” for a person narrative which was part of a larger celestial narrative outside the theism that prevailed in Texas, where I became born and spent my youth (in a largely secular household). Initially, this thesis was quite attractive and appeared to reflect an alternative model for human origins and possible destinies. It appeared like a attack that is plausible the cultural and historical orthodoxy regarding the age, particularly the pre-Copernican ideologies associated with the proselytizing evangelicals in my own suburb.

Thesis was deeply mistaken upon later reflection, however, I found myself questioning the logic of the book’s assertions and came to realize that von Daniken’s “ancient-astronaut. The book’s flaws were exposed in a 1976 Skeptical Inquirer article as well as in a written book entitled The Space Gods Revealed that featured a forward by none apart from Carl Sagan.1 By 1977, Chariot associated with the Gods? was debunked in a BBC-PBS production of Nova in an episode called “The Case of this Ancient Astronauts.”2 The episode refuted the next claims: a graphic of an ancient astronaut was carved on a Mayan sarcophagus, the Nazca Lines in Peru were originally an ancient-astronaut spaceport, ancient astronauts inspired various carvings on Peruvian stones, and ancient astronauts built the pyramids in Egypt together with Moai statues on Easter Island.

The above assertions are one of the most ludicrous and illogical interpretations of human artifacts created by the ancient-astronaut theorists, and all are wholly unproven. In several ways, the series is an attack on logic, rationality, while the nature of ev >Ancient Aliens has been on tv for seven seasons suggests you will find sizable audiences who will be quite gullible, struggling to think logically, and scientifically illiterate. Plus, you will find irresponsible and television that is intellectually bankrupt, but that is nothing new either.

When you look at the wake associated with the Trump pres >Chariots associated with the Gods? and Ancient Aliens, practically all regarding the ev that is so-called be solved.

Almost all the claims of extraterrestrial influence made on Ancient Aliens assume that human civilization and consciousness don’t have a lot of creativity, originality, or capacity to innovate. The basic idea is that, without assistance from the ancient astronauts, humans would be helpless and might never build such great structures or make profound scientific discoveries. Plus, the show assumes there is absolutely no room for chance, surprise, emergence, singularities, or some of the insights of chaos and complexity theory. In the end, the series represents an assault on rationality and scientific methods, not unlike all the paranormal movies and television shows.