Knowledge via Eliminative Abduction in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Abstract: I motivate the claim that the proper end of enquiry in the search for extraterrestrial life is knowledge that life exists beyond earth, rather than mere plausibility, and assess the claim – versions of which can be found in the astrobiology and paleontology literatures – that such knowledge would require the elimination of all candidate abiotic explanations of the available data; I do so by engaging with contemporary philosophical work in the theory of knowledge.

Presenter bio: Christopher Cowie is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Durham. Prior to this he was a Research Fellow at Cambridge. He has held visiting Fellowships at Stanford and Harvard. He has authored two monographs, and articles at venues including Mind, Nous, Journal of Philosophy, Nature Astronomy and Astrobiology. Further details of his research and publications are available on his website at www.christophercowie.com.

The seminar will take place IRL at LUX in room B 538, and on Zoom