Abstract
Astrobiology is the field of science devoted to searching for life elsewhere in the Universe. It is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating results from multiple fields of science, and in this respect has strong synergies with ‘big history’. I argue that big history and astrobiology are both acting to widen human perspectives in intellectually and socially beneficial directions, especially by enhancing public awareness of cosmic and evolutionary worldviews. I will further argue that these perspectives have important implications for the social and political organisation of humanity, including the eventual political unification of our planet. Astrobiology and big history are also concerned with the future of humanity, and I will argue that this future will be culturally and intellectually enriched if it includes the exploration of the universe around us. An earlier version of this chapter was originally published in the Journal of Big History, Vol. III(3), pp. 205–224 (2019).
It is only when the different scientific disciplines and the different specialities choose to interact, and only when all cultures and states recognize that they have common interests, that humanity can evolve towards one single co-operative society (Aerts et al. 1994, p. 20)
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Notes
- 1.
And perhaps earlier—see the discussion by Mukesh Bhatt elsewhere in this volume.
- 2.
Interestingly, in 1992 the cultural anthropologist Ben Finney made exactly this point in the context of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), itself an important component of astrobiology, when he asked “could it be that SETI is a project that could help bridge intellectual gulfs within our own species, as well as extraterrestrial ones?” (Finney 1992).
- 3.
For a scholarly discussion of the various controversies associated with the concept of group selection, and other evolutionary influences on human behaviour, see Segerstråle (2000).
- 4.
Vestiges had a major influence on Winwood Reade, another Victorian writer of an evolutionary universal history, The Martyrdom of Man (1872), who in turn influenced Wells (see Hesketh 2015). Reade also sensed the ethical and political implications of the evolutionary perspective, arguing that it pointed to a future in which “our enlightened posterity will look back on us who eat oxen and sheep just as we look back upon cannibals” (p. 513) and that “[t]he whole world will be united by the same sentiment which united the primeval clan, and which made its members think, feel and act as one. Men will look upon this star [i.e., planet] as their fatherland” (p. 514).
- 5.
Barbara Ward’s slim book “Spaceship Earth” (1966), based on her George P. Pegram lectures at Columbia University, contains much of interest to the present discussion; of particular importance is her insistence on the need to build global institutions for planetary management.
- 6.
I should stress that Som (2019) does not discuss the concept of world government, and indeed the tenor of his article seems opposed to such institutional innovations. Rather, he argues that cosmic perspectives can help cement a common human identity, and that this will enhance the survival chances of human civilisation without the need to develop new institutions. My own view is closer to that of Ward (1966) in that I think a common human identity, in part induced by the cosmic perspective, will prove to be of practical value by providing the psychological foundations on which global institutions may be built.
- 7.
- 8.
Schwartz (2020, p. 141) is concerned that what White (2014) terms the “overview effect” is based on anecdotal reports of astronauts and has not been tested in a controlled manner. Such experimental tests would be desirable and may be possible using virtual reality (see the chapters by Annahita Nezami et al. and Daniela de Paulis and Frank White elsewhere in this volume). Despite his scepticism on this point, Schwartz nevertheless notes “that does not mean we are wrong to suspect that the experience of the space environment will alter our beliefs and values in important ways.” Bjørnvig’s (2013) criticism is based largely on what he sees as an overly ‘religious’ element to some aspects of White’s conception of the “overview effect”; he doesn’t present any evidence against its validity as a psychological phenomenon.
- 9.
The term ‘colonisation’ is sometimes felt to be problematic due to its historical ties to European imperialism and exploitation (I am grateful to Lewis Dartnell for this observation). These concerns have much less force when applied to prospective human colonisation of lifeless extraterrestrial environments, but may still stimulate philosophical discussion (see Sect. 7.2). Of course, any attempt by humanity (or post-humanity) to colonise locations where indigenous life already exists would raise enormous ethical concerns, not least because it would violate the ‘Cosmic Golden Rule’ proposed by Randolph and McKay (2014).
- 10.
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Acknowledgments
An earlier version of this article was drafted while I held a Visiting Fellowship at the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University in 2018; I thank the HRC, especially Professor Will Christie and Ms. Penny Brew, for their hospitality during my stay. I am grateful to Lewis Dartnell for comments on this version that have improved it.
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An earlier version of this chapter was originally published in the Journal of Big History, Vol. III(3), pp. 205–224 (2019); I am grateful to the Editor of JBH, Dr. Lowell Gustafson, for permission to reproduce large sections of that article here.
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Crawford, I.A. (2021). Widening Perspectives: The Intellectual and Social Benefits of Astrobiology, Big History, and the Exploration of Space. In: Crawford, I. (eds) Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History and Cosmic Perspectives. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, vol 58. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70482-7_18
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