Abstract
Essayist and editor Richard Holt Hutton argued in 1892 that communication with Mars, if established, would lead (even though it should not) to a decrease in Man’s confidence and a lowering of his sense of moral responsibility, because he would take it as another sign of his insignificance.3 This concern has reappeared many times.
The proof, which is now only a matter of time, that this young species of ours is low in the scale of cosmic intelligence will be a shattering blow to our pride. —Arthur C. Clarke, 19631
Copernicus and Darwin may have inured humans to marginalization. —The Social Implications Report, 19942
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Michaud, M.A.G. (2007). Fears. In: Contact with Alien Civilizations. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68618-9_23
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