In the case of astrobiology, all these Big Questions can pull scientists into a speculative-philosophical space that sounds like the domain of the humanities or even, yes, theology. What, exactly, is life? What does it mean to be alive? Where do we draw the line between the human and the alien? What are the possibilities for sentient life in other places? How would we relate to that alien sentience, if it turned up tomorrow? How would that discovery change humanity’s sense of our place in the universe?
In general, there are two ways to slice up astrobiology-and-society questions. Some are consequence-oriented: what would happen to politics/society/the economy/religion/etc. if NASA announced that it had made contact with an alien civilization, or at least had found some fossilized microbes on Mars? Other question are theory-oriented: how does the possibility of extraterrestrial life force people to think differently about sentience, human worth, the importance of Earth, or God?
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