re: The burden of proof
You are not getting it Raoul. We are special because we are a rare thing in this Universe. Most of the universe is made of inanimate, unaware and unthinking matter. In our Solar System alone the total amount of matter that is self aware is a tiny present.
Even if one in every thousand star had an intelligent species living under its warmth, that would still be a tiny percentage compared to all the other matter.
Most matter in this universe is not alive and thinking. We are. We are rare. We are special.