The branch of thought that asks what the existence of truly alien beings would mean for our understanding of ourselves, our place in the universe, and our concepts of meaning and value. If aliens have a completely different form of consciousness, do they have rights? If they're more advanced, are they our superiors? If they don't have a concept of God, does that prove atheism or just that God doesn't speak their language? Exotic philosophy is the art of realizing that everything you thought was universal might just be local, and that the universe is probably much stranger than you can imagine, which is either terrifying or liberating, depending on your tolerance for not being special.
Example: "After learning about the vastness of the universe and the likelihood of alien life, he entered a state of exotic philosophy. 'If there are a billion civilizations,' he thought, 'then our wars, our art, our entire history is just one local news channel in a cosmic network. And my problems? They're the weather report for a neighborhood no one watches.' He then went to work, which felt both meaningless and, somehow, still urgent."
by Nammugal February 14, 2026
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