ABSTRACT
Some consider any search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) proof of the lunacy of those who undertake it. Others see it as a matter of amusement, tolerable as a harmless if puzzling hobby. Both attitudes usually also contain a concern that public funds should not be used for the endeavour. In passing, however, we should also note that the detection of any form of extraterrestrial life rather than intelligence may be more likely in the near future as we explore our near neighbours. Debate as to whether this world is the only home of intelligence in the Universe has gone on for millennia. It has arisen among philosophers as well as among cosmologists, and shows no signs of exhaustion. Lawyers have also been active. Active SETI, also known as METI — ‘Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence’ — has a constituency that intends to try to communicate with Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI).
