The Privileged Planet

Co-authored by two Discovery Institute Fellows, astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez and philosopher Jay W. Richards, The Privileged Planet presents a new form of design argument which can be applied to the level of the cosmos. Design proponents have long held that the physical constants of nature and properties of our solar system appear finely tuned and specified to allow for advanced life. But Richards and Gonzalez take this argument to a new level by arguing that the same set of circumstances which permit advanced life are also optimized for a range of scientific discoveries.

Chapter eight, for instance, centers on research by Gonzalez that was featured in a cover story of Scientific American in 2001. Like our solar system’s habitable zone, our galaxy has a habitable zone as well. This broken ring roughly halfway from the galaxy’s center is far enough away from the radiation-filled center of the galaxy, between its radiation-filled spiral arms, but not so far out that it lacks the heavy elements needed for terrestrial planets like Earth. This location is also well situated for making a range of scientific discovery. While other locations might allow improved observation of this or that feature, the Galactic Habitable Zone offers an overall better location for a range of important scientific observations. This is but one of many instances of what seems to be a consistent correlation between the requirements for life and the requirements for scientific discovery.

But any book coauthored by a philosopher must investigate the philosophical implications. Richards and Gonzalez recounts that a historical myth developed, according to which, when it was discovered that the Earth was neither the center of the Solar System nor the Universe, Earth became insignificant. This mythology was popularized by materialists like Carl Sagan who preferred to portray Earth to the public as just a lucky but insignificant pale blue dot floating through the uncaring depths of space.

The Privileged Planet argues that there is a weak historical and theological basis for the claim that Christianity requires Earth to be at the center of the action. Moreover, there is a growing body of scientific evidence from a range of disciplines showing that great care and intelligent design was taken in our cosmic placement. According to the evidence cited in the book, both the design of cosmic laws and the specific architecture of our solar system, including the sizes and relationship of Earth and moon, permit the existence of advanced life with the opportunities to make profound scientific discoveries.

Reviews

In a book of magnificent sweep and daring Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards drive home the arguments that the old cliché of no place like home is eerily true of Earth. Not only that, but if the scientific method was to emerge anywhere, the Earth is about as suitable as you can get. Gonzalez and Richards have flung down the gauntlet. Let the debate begin; it is a question that involves us all.

Simon Conway Morris
Professor of Evolutionary Paleobiology, University of Cambridge
Author of Life’s Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe

This thoughtful, delightfully contrarian book will rile up those who believe the “Copernican principle” is an essential philosophical component of modern science. Is our universe designedly congenial to intelligent, observing life? Passionate advocates of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) will find much to ponder in this carefully documented analysis.

Owen Gingerich
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Author of The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus

Not only have Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards written a book with a remarkable thesis, they have constructed their argument on an abundance of evidence and with a cautiousness of statement that make their volume even more remarkable. In my opinion, The Privileged Planet deserves very careful attention.

Michael J. Crowe
Cavanaugh Professor Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
Author of The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750–1900

Impressively researched and lucidly written, The Privileged Planet will surely rattle if not finally dislodge a pet assumption held by many interpreters of modern science: the so-called Copernican Principle (which isn’t actually very Copernican!). But Gonzalez and Richards’ argument, though controversial, is so carefully and moderately presented that any reasonable critique of it must itself address the astonishing evidence which has for so long somehow escaped our notice. I therefore expect this book to renew—and to raise to a new level—the whole scientific and philosophic debate about earth’s cosmic significance. It is a high class piece of work that deserves the widest possible audience.

Dennis Danielson
Professor of English, University of British Columbia
Editor of The Book of the Cosmos: Imagining the Universe from Heraclitus to Hawking

Gonzalez and Richards have written a book that is at once inspiring, illuminating, and beautiful. Although the 20th century insights in quantum physics should long ago have dispelled the simplistic idea that nature is nothing more than matter in motion, The Privileged Planet suggests that scientific discovery is embedded in the very structure of the cosmos. With uncommonly engaging prose, they offer a virtual tour of the marvels of modern science and the discoveries science has brought to light, from geology to cosmology. The authors also suggest intriguing answers to ubiquitous “cosmic questions”: Why have we been able to discover so much about the world around us in such a short time? Is extraterrestrial life common, or is it quite rare? What is Earth’s place in the cosmos? Does the universe exist for a purpose? Only those interested in these questions — but who isn’t? — should read this book.

George Gilder
Author of The Bestselling Book Telecosm
Founder of Gilder Technology Report

In this fascinating and highly original book, Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards advance a persuasive argument, and marshal a wealth of diverse scientific evidence to justify that argument. In the process, they effectively challenge several popular assumptions, not only about the nature and history of science, but also about the nature and origin of the cosmos. The Privileged Planet will be impossible to ignore. It is likely to change the way we view both the scientific enterprise and the world around us. I recommend it highly.

Philip Skell
Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Physics, Pennsylvania State University
Member of National Academy of Sciences

This new book is an excellent and timely contribution to the broadening and increasingly important discussion of origins.

Henry F. Schaefer III
Professor of Chemistry, Graham Perdue
Director of Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry, University of Georgia
Five-Time Nobel Prize Nominee

Privileged Planet is simply a beautifully written piece of work: so lucid and compelling in its presentation that even the most lay of laypersons will fly through its pages, barely able to put the book down. And when is the last time that hard science has delivered such an optimistic, even joyful message? For Gonzalez and Richards have made the incontrovertible case that this earth of ours is not just some flyspeck of inconsequentiality in a meaningless universe, but holds a rare, even honored place, and that we, its inhabitants, are especially privileged to be here.

Joshua Gilder
Former White House Speech Writer
Author of Heavenly Intrigue: Brahe, Kepler and the Birth of Modern Science