Planet Privilege | Jay Richards
Michael talks with Dr. Richards about the book he co-authored with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, Privileged Planet. Nothing in this physical reality of ours is greater than the universe itself. What is man’s place in it? And in the hopes of answering such an audacious question, what makes scientific discovery even possible?
A Diversified Mind
Jay Richards, a senior fellow at Discovery Institute and an amazingly diverse and accomplished thinker and writer. He teaches at the School of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America, serves as Executive Editor of the web journal The Stream, and meanwhile has had time to write a stream of fascinating and important books on a range of subjects, from science to economics to theology. He holds a PhD in theology and philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary. His books include the New York Times bestsellers Infiltrated, and Indivisible.
Video
Show Notes
- 02:50 | Isn’t it preposterous to think that we might be alone in the universe?
- 04:00 | What is chemically required for carbon-based life and for habitability?
- 05:20 | What about recent discoveries of exoplanets?
- 05:50 | The most habitable Earth-like planet
- 06:30 | The chances of unlocking life
- 08:15 | Would a habitable planet inevitably lead to life?
- 09:00 | How did life begin here?
- 11:00 | What would be the implications of extraterrestrial life for intelligent design?
- 13:15 | The potentially counter-productive effect of the SETI program
- 15:15 | Should we worry about hostile extraterrestrial life?
- 16:38 | Drake’s Equation and the quality of assumptions
- 19:40 | The upside and downside of being alone in the universe