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I do have hope that intelligent life may exist somewhere in the galaxy or Universe, but I'm waiting for it to develop here. At the moment, the jury's still out.
Seriously, self-awareness is a sliding scale among animals (anyone who has spent time with animals knows this), peaking with, perhaps (well, it COULD be argued) Man. However, looking at this "sliding scale", it is equally possible to envision a species much higher up the ramp, so to speak.
But, the Universe is so vast, so the likelihood of our ever knowing that species exists is near zero. Our Sun's heat will end all life on Earth some time in the next billion or billion and a half years. Even if we've managed to seed the stars with Ark-like ships carrying thousands of us, the species that will develop from us (assuming we don't kill ourselves off) will look back at us in pity and wonder (similar to how we look at Homo erectus) as they flee the Earth before its end.
It is the height of anthropocentrism and egotism to believe there is something special in our existences. A large asteroid could hit us in a hundred years and put an end to all of us and the Universe would go on.
Indeed, we are capable of killing our own species off, but we will not end life on Earth.
WE care if there is purpose. WE care if there is life elsewhere. WE care about the nature of the Universe. IT does not know whether we exist....or care. It is simply up to us to define our own purpose. When you grow up, you realize that you are responsible for your own lives. Man is refusing to grow up and take responsibility for his own existence by deciding it has meaning and that the meaning is................
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