The rising question continues to be pondered: “why is there such a strong taboo against taking the UFO subject seriously when there is ample evidence for it”? Society is left with the constant deliberation of UFO taboos. UFOs are claimed to be seen all the time, but not many believe that they are true. In “Militant Agnosticism and the UFO Taboo” in Chapter 27 of UFOs written by Leslie Kean, two political scientists, Alexander Wendt and Raymond Duvall argue that the origins of UFO taboo are strictly political and not scientific. They mention why the United States government has supposedly been less than forthcoming on the question of UFOs. Skeptics mention various seemingly intractable obstacles to interstellar travel to argue against the extraterrestrial hypothesis. Wendt and Duvall offer what they describe as an “epistemology of UFO ignorance” to explain why modern states methodically resist the idea that extra-terrestrial life forms might concurrently exist and travel to earth. They stressed their belligerent agnosticism about whether UFOs truly are extra-terrestrial, implying that they are interested solely in how and why the ignorance is preserved. Wendt and Duvall argue that the assertive axiology of UFO ignorance is needed in order to control and maintain governance, because intelligent extraterrestrial life that can make itself known on earth is a threat to science and authority. This paper will analyze arguments towards why UFOs are ignored in modern states, how to make UFOs become more known, and will discuss and critique Wendt’s and Duvall’s ideology behind why UFOs are considered to be taboos.
This chapter is divided into sections which include: proving our ignorance, the threat of the UFO, maintaining the taboo, and resistance through militant agnosticism. Interestingly, the topic of UFOs is considered to be outside the boundaries of rational discourse, because authorities firmly believe that UFOs are imaginative creations. It is described as a fiction, a taboo that is not worth discussing that would potentially lead to heated debates. It is intriguing for skeptics to think that human beings know based off of scientific facts that UFOs are not extraterrestrial, however it is not known whether or not UFOs have an extraterrestrial origin. There is no correct answer currently, it is unknown and it is not appropriate to automatically declare that UFOs are extraterrestrial; they are labeled as unidentified. As a result, the extraterrestrial hypothesis should not be rejected. Skeptics believe in the motto “It can’t be true, therefore it isn’t” and provide four main arguments to this. The first argument states that scientific reasons exist to believe that intelligent life does not exist anywhere, on the contrary, there are also solid scientific reasons to think that it actually does exist. Simply put, it is inevitable what will be discovered in the future, because as of right now there is no certainty as to if there is. This seems as if skeptics are in denial of the possibility of there being intelligent life, and reiterate reasons about how scientific reasons do not think they exist. Oddly enough, it is a way of comfort for them, whenever “scientific reasons” is uttered, most people are reassured that experts know the truth behind it and no such thing exists. Secondly, skeptics declare that if there was even a slight possibility of intelligent life existing, it is too far away from Earth to be able to get here. With that being said, maybe they are on their way now, or they have been for who knows how many years, decades, centuries, we just merely do not know the truth. Interestingly, the third argument is by pondering if these “visitors” from other planets travel all the way to Earth, then why don’t they land on the White House lawn and introduce themselves? Since it has not occurred, skeptics are convinced that the UFO occupants are not here. However, there is ultimately no solid proof that there is a possibility of extraterrestrials wanting to avoid contact and what their reasons might be for doing so. The final argument applies to human jurisdiction, that at this point in life, the world would have known for a fact if extraterrestrials are here on the planet because of sophisticated scientific tools and measurements used by experts. But, what if people have seen it but because of fear have not shared what they saw. There have been numerous stories shared by various people around the world with seeing UFOs but those people are just shamed on. It is vital to understand that these four arguments made are not because they are wrong, rather that rational people can be in opposition about if they are incorrect since they all ultimately depend on unproven presumptions instead of constructed scientific evidence. This is frustrating because there is no correct answer to the extraterrestrial hypothesis, nobody knows because there is not a single person who has the scientific knowledge to make rational statements about this topic with any valid explanations and proof.
In the next section, The Threat of the UFO, Wendt and Duvall explain that by being ignorant about the likelihood of UFOs having an extraterrestrial origin by proper applications of science it does not justify the notion of extraterrestrials, it is just perplexing. This is said because if there was even a slight discovery of UFOs, it would have been considered one of the most valuable events in history and an ongoing investigation would occur. The origins of this UFO taboo are strictly political. The lack of ability to be able to see clearly and speak reasonably about UFOs is seen to be a sign of authoratitative perturbation, due to the fear of what the potential reality of the UFO might mean for the government today. The “threat is threefold” (Kean 270). If the world were to actually acknowledge the existence of UFOs and no longer consider them to be unknown entities, inevitably UFOs would pose a tangible threat leaving us with no preparation to communicate or combat them. Then the question arises with whether the state is capable of protecting its citizens from the UFO invasion. Also, if the government confirms the presence of extraterrestrials, it would create tremendous pressure for a world government, which today’s terrestrial states would be loath to form and eventually would threaten the structures of these states. However, most importantly, according to Wendt and Duvall, the possibility of extraterrestrials brings in the question of what is considered “anthropocentric nature of modern sovereignty” (270). This is regarded as questioning if humankind is the most vital element of existence as opposed to God or animals. It is a modern assumption, less common in ancient times where the gods were considered more superior than human beings and they were the ones in control. That is an intricate question because what would be the correct answer to that? There is no way of being able to properly answer that question without any rigorous arguments occurring and leaving people perplexed with what to actually believe. With this assumption and the forthcoming of the extraterrestrials, it would be something analogous to the “materialization of God” (270). UFOs in general create a deep insecurity where numerous possibilities are thought of because of their intrinsic danger to the world. The UFO taboo is therefore ignored and no decision is made about the topic.
In Maintaining the Taboo, just because there was a suggestion made concerning the UFO Taboo being required for modern anthropocentric rule does not literally mean it will be retained automatically. In order to prohibit this, countless hours of work must be dedicated to help people “know” that UFOs are not extraterrestrial and can be disregarded. However, the work of this taboo is contradictory, because today people are aware of various things by making them observable and attempting to explain how they work, and relating to the UFO case, perhaps it could lead to a validity of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. There are four techniques for making UFOs “known” without actually needing to find out what they truly are. The first is representations of what UFOs are, provided by the government, scientific experts and the media. They “[reinforce] the authoritative consensus that UFOs should not be taken seriously” (278). This might not be the truth however, but there is no solid proof to be able to backup the statement. Another technique that keeps the taboo maintained is in regards to pseudoscience, where scientific assessment further reaffirms there is no such phenomena in regards to UFOs. The third technique is “pervasive official secrecy about UFO reports involving military personnel” by removing any understanding that might even slightly strengthen the argument for taking UFOs in a serious manner. By withholding information on specific cases, obviously society will immediately reject that there is no such thing as UFOs because they are not presented with any information. The documents are sealed away from them, and those “experts” who have the information keep quiet and not mention anything related to it. It is even more difficult to not be able to report military UFO encounters because it is harder to assess the validity of it. With these being kept away from societies, it is concerning to see what the potential effect of official secrecy will be. Wendt and Duvall explicitly state that “[their] personal view is that far from hiding the truth about aliens the state is more likely hiding its ignorance” (279). Personal belief is what people have when it comes to the discourse of UFO secrecy, and this is not only frustrating but confusing, because there is no solid answer behind the truth. Finally, the last technique is discipline, for instructing notion and action that relies on social pressures and abilities. Authorities may practice pseudoscience, but in the end will just try depicting that UFOs do not exist through research they conduct.
In the last section, Resistance Through Militant Agnosticism, it states that even though the mentioned mechanisms are powerful, the taboo has at least three weaknesses that make it to likely be unstable. The UFO itself is considered a weakness because they are constantly showing up and governments work endlessly to make sure they are not recognizable and that requires a lot of work. Another weakness lies in the “different knowledge interests of science and the state” (279). The state is interested in maintaining its skeptical narrative about UFOs as being true, while on the contrary, science identifies that its validity can only be provisional. These differences amongst science and state put people in a position where they have to choose which side they agree with more, and frankly it is hard to do that when there is not much verification on UFOs. Arguments arise amongst distinct people and it is easier to just not speak about it. Liberalism is another weakness because it justifies itself “as a discourse that produces free-thinking subjects who might doubt [UFOs]” (280). This is not surprising though, more people doubt the existence of UFOs than actually believe it strictly because there is no solid scientific proof based off of experiments or thorough research that has been conducted. This is referred to as the “militant agnosticism”. This is referred to the subject of whether or not UFOs are extraterrestrial and no action should be taken until it is thoroughly studied. In order to address UFOs, the taboos against such investigation must be raised. They said that once there is actual scientific research being conducted, then it should be practical for both science and the state to diverge on the inquiry of the existence of UFOs.
Moreover, people have not seen any military technology that could have been recovered from captured UFOs, in spite of rumors to the contrary. In order to go beyond the scientific research that has already been completed and make new breakthroughs, three things will need to happen. First, specific patterns should be carefully looked upon rather than individual cases. This is so there is a general basis and knowledge for what should be seen rather than making specific comments on individuals and manipulating the phenomena. UFOs “are like meteorological phenomena, which can be properly studied only in the aggregate” (281). This is true because a collection of data is way more useful to observe and thoroughly examine, rather than individual experiments. Secondly, a focus on finding new reports instead of analyzing old ones on UFOs will be more useful. New reports lead to more information, better context rather than dissecting older historical reports that might not be relevant to the present. Lastly, a science will have to focus on gathering objective and physical evidence in order to be able to convince the truth about UFOs to various authorities. This is a difficult task to accomplish, but as time progresses, with the technology experts use it can be completed. The problem behind the ignorance of UFOs is strictly political and as such “a truly militant agnosticism will be necessary to overcome it” (281). It is worth trying rather than ignoring UFOs and what can potentially be the truth behind it. It is uncertain what the truth is, nobody knows as of now, but that can change in the future. Wendt and Duvall state that instead of denying anything, it is time to actually try and conduct studies on the phenomena.
According to chapter six of “It All Comes Together” from the book The Resonance of Unseen Things by Susan Lepselter, there is merely no category to placing unnatural thoughts like UFOs because it applies to numerous people in distinct ways. Lepselter also explains that people use stories in order to help people translate any unnatural thoughts and make sense of them. She describes that there is no way of deeply analyzing the social categories of people she describes simply because she cannot make a story out of it. Reason behind that is because it would mislead what she is attempting to explain about the unfinalized forms of affection and imagination that appear in ecentric discussions. Recollections and imaginations surpass individual encounters and end up becoming challenges. Ultimately, Leselter argues that what people need to know can be heard in the poetic resonance of these stories from numerous sources. She explicitly states that “here, in many social worlds where people talk about UFOs and all the weird stuff that happens in the world, resonance is the subject matter. They become artful and meaningful through narrative and poetic utterances. The poetic processes of how people recognize the resemblances and patterns between events and stories, and how they use that chime to cast a new story about powers that seems to big to name”. Lepselter mentions that the discussion of UFOs “performs the middle of a long, troubled American story of conquest, a shifting, unstable desire trying to construct and express a different point of identification- one that just doesn’t feel at one with the order of the world as it is” (Lepselter 160). Wendt, Duvall and Lespelter all agree on the notion that the discourse of UFOs is a continuous and vague conversation that ends with a varying answer regarding if they exist or not. They also infer that the narratives hold structural similarities regardless, even though the plots were explained differently from one another. Even though both authors essentially share the same idea and how there should not be a single, easy made response in regards to UFOs and their existence, in a way they also reiterate more scientific studies need to be established in order to truly understand the truth that lies behind it.
Wendt and Duvall disregard the idea of a “vast conscious conspiracy” on the part of the U.S. government that prevents information on UFOs from reaching the public. The world’s powerful authoritative figures appear to be to going on with their day-to-day decision makings in the absence of taking into consideration the impact of extraterrestrial visitors, who might possibly give society some advice on how to find replacements for different scientific experiments, considering their talent in interstellar travel. “Contact with extraterrestrials could potentially be a transformative event, yet if it has already occurred, the world’s leaders seem startling aloof and amazingly tight-lipped—a remarkable adherence to security protocol in an age of exposé journalism. At least from surface appearances, public officials do not seem to take into account the presence of aliens, with few exceptions”. Lepselters arguments agree with what Wendt and Duvall are explaining, but she emphasizes that it is impossible to categorize UFOs into a specific category because it is just not possible due to distinct reasons people find and believe.
Interestingly enough, in “The Future Technology of Folklore” written by Jacques Vallee, who also was pondering the question “why don’t people speak more about the topic of UFOs”. He was intrigued to understand why this specific topic was seen as forbidden and not spoken of at all. There seems to be a few structural elements that are emplaced that are keeping us from talking about this topic. At some point in his career, Vallee believed that “UFOs were evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations attempting contact or, more darkly, reconnaissance” (Vallee 154). He argues, however, that believers or rationalists will not be the ones to solve the UFO phenomenon. Ever since 1968, he believes these UFO encounters have to do with the “magical and mystical structures of human consciousness, and that they draw on ancient mythology and folklore” (195). Vallee, in relation to Wendt and Duvall somewhat in a way are on the same page in regards to the topic of UFOs and how people interpret it. The reason is because they do not want people becoming fearful or uncomfortable knowing the truth that is behind all this. People typically in Western culture reject or oppose the idea of understanding UFOs, and it is no surprise that this is the case.
For modern states, the idea that extraterrestrial life might exist seems to be a huge dilemma, because authoritative figures simply want to maintain their governance and make sure there are no threats to human-centered science and regulation. If there is actual proof of UFOs traveling back and forth on Earth, there would be an abundance of chaos and fear rising among people because they would not know how to feel in that uncomfortable and eccentric situation. What is even more intriguing is the fact that people cannot accept or deny that UFOs and extra-terrestrial life is real because we merely do not know the truth behind it. Most people just express their thought as to what they believe and that is acceptable, but as of right now it is impossible to give a solid answer in regards to that and have proof along with it. There is absolutely no conspiracy to hide the truth because modern states have no clue what UFOs consist of. Those who do believe and want to convince or reveal anything related to UFOs should not be tackling the problem by doing anything political, rather it has to be physical science conducted in order to go around authorities and explaining to them what has been discovered.
The United States government appears to be treating the topic of UFOs as an existential threat. There are no posts by them that encourage or deny anything related to it. If the government is not speaking about it, in a way it is comforting to the rest of Americans because they have nothing to worry about. If any talk were to be made about UFOs and it was publicly announced on social media, there would be anxiety not only from regular people but also strong, authoritative leaders. What fears political organizations most is that the anthropocentrism can be damaged if there is any evidence with extra-terrestrial life on Earth. The UFO taboo is obligatory as a result in order to sustain rule in its present form, therefore the government can continue to be ignorant of UFOs and not make any decisions. The UFO taboo is hence seen as a critical part of the present day, anthropocentric rule. There should not be any fear amongst people even if the government ever decides to mention the possibility of UFOs. There should be projects that enable modern states to conduct research on, UFos being one of the topics. Whether people feel fascinated, uncomfortable or neutral about the discussion, more research needs to be done in order to potentially find out what is behind all of this. It is worse when assumptions are made and people forcefully try to stick that idea in their head that “no UFOs do not exist” or “yes UFOs do exist”, because nobody knows if they truly do exist or not. These implications make it harder on people and it does not help anyone other than cause authoritative fear or just cause unnecessary chaos.
In the chapter named “Militant Agnosticism and the UFO Taboo” of the book UFOs, political scientists Alexander Wendt and Raymond Duvall state that the basis of UFO taboos are solely governmental and not scientific. They argue that the axiology of UFO ignorance is desired to comfortably maintain modern governance, because if there is any known possibility of extraterrestrial life on Earth serves as a gargantuan threat to science and power. They also explained that once there is actual scientific research being conducted, then the likelihood for science and state to separate on the existence of UFOs should be highly possible. There are no promises for what the future can hold, but what people do now can impact what ultimately occurs later on in life.