Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History and Cosmic Perspectives
Title | Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History and Cosmic Perspectives PDF eBook |
Author | Ian Crawford |
Publisher | Springer Nature |
Pages | 376 |
Release | 2021-06-07 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 3030704823 |
This book collates papers presented at two international conferences (held at the Australian National University in 2018 and Birkbeck College London in 2019) exploring the relationships between big history and astrobiology and their wider implications for society. These two relatively new academic disciplines aim to integrate human history with the wider history of the universe and the search for life elsewhere. The book will show that, despite differences in emphasis, big history and astrobiology share much in common, especially their interdisciplinary approaches and the cosmic and evolutionary perspectives that they both engender. Specifically, the book addresses the unified, all-embracing, nature of knowledge, the impact of big history on humanity and the world at large, the possible impact of SETI on astrobiology and big history, the cultural signature of Earth’s inhabitants beyond our own planet, and the political implications of a planetary worldview. The principal readership is envisaged to comprise scholars working in the fields of astrobiology, big history and space exploration interested in forging interdisciplinary links between these diverse topics, together with educators, and a wider public, interested in the societal implications of the cosmic and evolutionary perspectives engendered by research in these fields.
Astrophilosophy, Exotheology, and Cosmic Religion
Title | Astrophilosophy, Exotheology, and Cosmic Religion PDF eBook |
Author | Andrew M. Davis |
Publisher | Lexington Books |
Pages | 575 |
Release | 2024-01-22 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 1666944378 |
Astrophilosopy, Exotheology, and Cosmic Religion: Extraterrestrial Life in a Process Universe applies Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy and the associated process philosophies of Henri Bergson, Teilhard de Chardin, and others to the interdisciplinary layers of astrobiology, extraterrestrial life, and the impact of discovery. This collection, edited by Andrew M. Davis and Roland Faber, asks questions such as “How have process thinkers imagined universal creative evolution and its implications for philosophies, theologies, and religions beyond earth?” and “How might their claims as to the primacy of organism, temporality, novelty, value, and mind enrich current discussions and debates across disciplines?” As experts in their fields, the contributors are informed by, but not limited to, process conceptualities. The chapters not only advance recent discussions in astrobiology, cosmology, and evolution but also consider a constellation of philosophical topics, from shared extraterrestrial knowledge and values to the possibilities or limitations afforded by A.I. technology, the Fermi Paradox, the Drake Equation, and the increasing need to nurture the cosmic dimensions of theological and religious traditions.
World Statehood
Title | World Statehood PDF eBook |
Author | Heikki Patomäki |
Publisher | Springer Nature |
Pages | 329 |
Release | 2023-07-07 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 303132305X |
Developing a processual understanding of world statehood, this book combines history, political philosophy, explanatory social science, and critical-reflexive futures studies. While doing so, it poses essential questions about world political integration, especially (i) whether and to what degree elements of world statehood exist today, (ii) whether the development of further elements of world statehood in some stronger sense can be seen as a tendential direction of history, and (iii) whether, and under what conditions, a world state could be viable? The book is organised into three parts. The first part, “Cosmopolitical processes”, explores whether world history as a whole is directed towards planetary integration, focusing on the emergence of cosmopolitanism, the world economy, and the peace problematic. The second part of the book, “Reflexive futures and agency”, focuses on the contemporary 21st-century processes of world history in terms of how non-fixed pasts, changing contexts, and anticipations of the future interact. The author explains how certain rational directionality is compatible with the possibility of deglobalisation, disintegrative tendencies, and “gridlock” in global governance in the key areas of the economy, security, and environment. In the final part of the book, “World statehood and beyond”, the author develops further the processual and open-ended account of the formation of interconnected elements of world statehood by discussing the cases of a global greenhouse gas tax and world parliament. He also analyses the feasibility of different paths towards global-scale integration and the potential for conflicts, divisions, and disintegration. This book is a must-read for students and scholars of political science, international relations, history, sociology, political philosophy, and futures studies interested in a better understanding of world statehood, world political integration, as well as the future of world politics.
Reclaiming Space
Title | Reclaiming Space PDF eBook |
Author | James S. J. Schwartz |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 397 |
Release | 2023 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 019760479X |
"Space, to use a worn metaphor, is in the mind of the beholder. When we contemplate the seemingly limitless universe, we tend to project onto space our own hopes and dreams (as well as our fears and anxieties). But like responses to Rorschach inkblots, there are many different hopes, dreams, fears, and anxieties that one can project onto the night's sky. To those who approach it with a thirst for profits, space appears as a resource-rich goldmine, beckoning to anyone with enough wealth and privilege to take advantage of untapped markets. To those who approach it with a yearning for human expansion, space appears as a frontier that is humanity's birthright to conquer, its new manifest destiny. To those who approach it with a passion for knowledge and understanding, space appears as a tantalizing and pristine laboratory for scientific exploration. In these ways, our visions for humanity's future in space--what planets and moons we hope to visit, what we hope to accomplish when we get there--are more products of our perspectives about space (and our underlying worldviews and value systems) than anything else"--
Gaia's Web
Title | Gaia's Web PDF eBook |
Author | Karen Bakker |
Publisher | MIT Press |
Pages | 289 |
Release | 2024-04-16 |
Genre | Technology & Engineering |
ISBN | 0262048752 |
A riveting exploration of one of the most important dilemmas of our time: will digital technology accelerate environmental degradation, or could it play a role in ecological regeneration? At the uncanny edge of the scientific frontier, Gaia’s Web explores the promise and pitfalls the Digital Age holds for the future of our planet. Instead of the Internet of Things, environmental scientist and tech entrepreneur Karen Bakker asks, why not consider the Internet of Living Things? At the surprising and inspiring confluence of our digital and ecological futures, Bakker explores how the tools of the Digital Age could be mobilized to address our most pressing environmental challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss. Interspersed with ten elegiac, enigmatic parables, each of which is based on an existing technology, Gaia’s Web evokes the conundrums we face as the World Wide Web intertwines with the Web of Life. A new generation of innovators is deploying digital technology to come to the aid of the planet, using spy satellites to track down environmental criminals, inviting animals to the Metaverse, and biohacking Frankenstein-like biobots as environmental sentinels. But will they end up doing more harm than good? In an engaging take on conservation technology, Bakker looks at the digital tech applications to environmental issues from predatory harvesting of environmental data to human bycatch and eco-surveillance capitalism. If we address these issues and mobilize digitally mediated forms of citizen science, she argues, digital tech could help reverse environmental harms and advance environmental sustainability. And in the process, Big Tech might be transformed for the better. With its uniquely broad scope—combining insights from computer science, ecology, engineering, environmental science, and environmental law—Gaia’s Web introduces profoundly novel ways of addressing our most pressing environmental challenges—mitigating climate change, protecting endangered species—and creating new possibilities for ecological justice by empowering nonhumans to participate in environmental regulation.
The Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty
Title | The Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty PDF eBook |
Author | Charles S. Cockell |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 529 |
Release | 2023-01-05 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 0192897985 |
This multi-author text provides in-depth analyses of space ethics and approaches to governance on territories beyond Earth. With insights from a vast background of academic subjects including science, law, philosophy, psychology, and politics it presents a holistic take on the expression of space freedoms and what it might mean for humankind.
Solar and Stellar Magnetic Activity
Title | Solar and Stellar Magnetic Activity PDF eBook |
Author | C. J. Schrijver |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 404 |
Release | 2008-10-30 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 1139425420 |
This timely volume provides the first comprehensive review and synthesis of current understanding of magnetic fields in the Sun and similar stars. Magnetic activity results in a wealth of phenomena - including starspots, non-radiatively heated outer atmospheres, activity cycles, deceleration of rotation rates, and even, in close binaries, stellar cannibalism - all of which are covered clearly and authoritatively. This book brings together for the first time recent results in solar studies and stellar studies. The result is an illuminating new view of stellar magnetic activity. Key topics include radiative transfer, convective simulations, dynamo theory, outer-atmospheric heating, stellar winds and angular momentum loss. Researchers are provided with a state-of-the-art review of this exciting field, and the pedagogical style and introductory material make the book an ideal and welcome introduction for graduate students.