After Contact - Hardcover

Harrison, Albert A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306456214 ISBN 13: 9780306456213

Publisher: Basic Books, 1997

Synopsis

Albert Harrison examines in detail the psychological, sociological, political, and cultural dimensions of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. By so doing, he firmly establishes that the behavioral and social sciences are as integral to the search as are the physical and biological sciences that have dominated the field up to now. This book offers a useful conceptual framework for rational discussion of extraterrestrial life forms, and provides a detailed analysis of likely human reactions to the detection of extraterrestrial life. Among the many examples that Harrison develops are: how psychological, social, and cultural factors shape people's views about the likelihood of intelligent extraterrestrials and the value of undertaking the search; how our understanding of life on Earth provides a useful framework for thinking about life elsewhere in our galaxy; how historical precedents give us a basis for forecasting human response to "contact"; how agencies such as the CIA inadvertently strengthen the impression of "government cover-up"; and why there is little risk that we will run afoul of an "evil empire." Harrison sketches our responses to the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence as individuals, as nations, and as humanity, and concludes that we have good reason for cautious optimism about the progress of the search and the aftermath of contact.

About this title

About the Author:

Albert A. Harrison is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is co-author of Living Aloft: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight (1985) and From Antarctica to Outer Space: Life in Isolation and Confinement (1991), and author Spacefaring: The Human Dimension (2001).

Review:

"Thought-provoking...A social and cultural road map to help readers grapple with the possibility that humans are not alone in the universe."

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0306456214
• ISBN 13: 9780306456213
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 363