Theoretical and empirical issues of the Mediocrity Principle

Abstract:

The following article is an analysis of the epistemological validity of the Mediocrity Principle, according to which Earth-like planets and life are widely spread throughout the Universe. Through theoretical arguments, probabilistic reasoning, Cosmology and to recent developments in the field of Astrobiology we will show that this reasoning cannot be justified a priori. However, the new scenarios offered by the icy moons of the Solar System could induce a new non-geocentric paradigm regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life.