Communicating Multiple Theories of Human Psychology in Interstellar Messages
- Paper number
IAC-09.A4.2.4
- Author
Prof. Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies, United States
- Year
2009
- Abstract
Proposals for the content of interstellar messages we might some day transmit to extraterrestrial civilizations typically assume that we should emphasize our most up-to-date scientific explanations, rather than precursors. This emphasis on the latest scientific theories rather than theories from prior centuries reflects an attempt to present our most comprehensive understandings rather than explanations now superseded. Particularly as we move toward an explication of theories of human psychology, however, which are highly influenced by historical factors and choices about the range of phenomena to be explained, such an emphasis on the most recent dominant model provides a truncated view of our self-understanding. This paper examines the assumptions of various schools of psychology that have been dominant at various times since the inception of the discipline, such as structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and cognitive psychology. We suggest ways to encode key concepts from these schools in interstellar messages, providing a richer portrait of humanity than an account from a single theoretical perspective. By encoding the chronology of the development of these theories, we can also convey to extraterrestrial intelligence something about the nature of the evolution of science on Earth.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-09.A4.2.4.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.