Here is a
podcast with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, who is skeptical of the famous "Copernican Principle" in science.
The principle is named after early astronomer Copernicus, whose 1543 book proposed that the sun is the center of our solar system. It suggests that, when making science decisions, we should assume that Earth is not an unusual planet and that its location is not unusual either.
Gonzalez and fellow astronomer Hugh Ross have pointed out,
Over the last four centuries the CP [Copernican Principle] has evolved from a simple claim that the Earth is not located at the center of the solar system to an expansive philosophical doctrine that the Earth, and particularly its inhabitants, are not special in any significant way.
It is worth noting that the Copernican principle is not testable. It is simply an assumption. If right, it will aid research, but if wrong, it will impede research.
Suppose it is wrong? Could that be one reason why the SETI search for extraterrestrial civilizations has not turned up any results for forty years, despite early optimism? Visit SETI and see for yourself.
Gonzalez's own research on planets that orbit stars other than our sun has documented that this claim, which was popularized by well-known astronomer Carl Sagan, is not correct. Earth is an unusual planet in an unusual location for exploring the galaxy.
Of course, there could be some space aliens out there. But if Gonzalez is right, we should expect that they are few and far between, and that is what we do see.
Gonzalez will appear in Ben Stein's Expelled movie, premiering in April, because he was denied tenure at Iowa State University last year, on account of his research direction. To look at some underlying issues, see Issues in science: The mind-body problem - why is it a problem?
Here is an interview with Gonzalez at Design of Life at which he talks about his findings and reactions to them. Here is the screenplay of his documentary, Privileged Planet, and here is a synopsis of the book of the same name that he wrote with philosopher Jay Richards.
Finally, a word about Copernicus ... Copernicus did not espouse the Copernican Principle himself. In fact, most of what you hear in popular media about him and his times are nonsense:
Myths and Facts About Copernicus and His Times*
Myth: In Copernicus’s time, most people believed that the earth was flat.
Fact: No educated person believed that the earth was flat. All schools in Copernicus’s day taught the ancient Greek view that the earth is a sphere. Nineteenth-century American writer Washington Irving gave legs to the story that medieval Europeans believed that the earth was flat.
Myth: Medieval philosophers thought that the earth was in the center of the universe because it was special.
Fact: Medieval philosophers thought that the earth was in the center of the universe because it was heavier than other planets, and was not really a “heavenly” body.
Myth: Copernicus’s sun-centered (heliocentric) theory was obviously simpler and more accurate than the old Ptolemaic (earth-centered) theory.
Fact: Copernicus’s theory, as he formulated it, was neither simpler nor more accurate than Ptolemy’s system. For one thing, he insisted that the planets’ orbits were circular. About a century after Copernicus’s death, Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) correctly identified the orbits as elliptical and straightened out other problems, which paved the way for the theory’s general acceptance.
Myth: Copernicus was persecuted by the Catholic Church, and therefore was reluctant to publish his theory.
Fact: Copernicus received a lot of support from the Catholic Church. When he was old and in failing health, Copernicus finally yielded to the wishes of high-ranking Catholic clergy and published his theory as a book. Partly because of the many myths that grew up around his theory, Copernicus’s name became attached to an idea that developed much later, that human beings were insignificant in the scheme of things.
*Adapted from By Design or by Chance? (Augsburg 2004), p. 24.