Overview

Building from foundations of modern science and cosmic evolution, as well as psychological and philosophical perspectives of value and meaning, this book explores some of humanity’s biggest questions: ·         Is the Universe “about something”? ·         What might be roles for life and intelligence in cosmic evolution? ·         How might we think about value, meaning, purpose, and ethics in a cosmic evolutionary context? The author explores how the sciences of relativity and quantum theory, combined with cosmic evolution and philosophical traditions such as process philosophy, contribute to the development of a broad “relationalist framework”. That framework helps inform perspectives such as “scientific minimalism” and “cosmological theories of value”. Cosmological Reverence, Cosmocultural Evolution, and the Connection-Action Principle are explored as examples of cosmological theories of value, all of which help inform how we might think about ethics, value, and meaning in a cosmic context – including application to the search for extraterrestrial life and the future of intelligence in the universe. This book will benefit a diverse range of practitioners in philosophy, science, and policy, including interdisciplinary fields such as Science and Society and cultural evolution studies. From the Foreword: “This volume ranges from the sciences of cosmic evolution, relativity, and quantum mechanics, to value theory and process philosophy, all with the goal of exploring how they relate to humanity in the sense of worldviews and meaning.  With his three cosmological theories of value, Lupisella goes beyond the bounds of most books on naturalism, and into fundamental questions about the nature of the universe and our relation to it.  To read Lupisella is to have a mind-boggling experience, to want to race to references, to want to know more.” Steven J. Dick Former Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/ Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology Former NASA Chief Historian  

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9783030253370

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Mark Lupisella, Ph.D. has a doctorate in evolutionary biology (Program in Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics), with his dissertation on A Theoretical Microbial Contamination Model for a Human Mars Mission, and also has a B.S. in Physics, and a M.A. in Philosophy of Science with a thesis on Using Artificial Life to Assess the Typicality of Terrestrial Life), all from the University of Maryland at College Park.   He founded The Horizons Project which aims to improve Humanity's ability to address long-term survival challenges.  He’s worked for NASA for 30 years and presently serves as the Exploration Research and Development Manager at the Goddard Space Flight Center.  He has worked on Hubble Space Telescope,  Exploration and Constellation Programs (with an emphasis on human mission architectures and advanced systems), and areas in astrobiology such as planetary protection, artificial life, and societal issues.  Dr. Lupisella assisted the Secure World Foundation in its initial stages of development and also helped lead the development of an Ethics Committee for Planet Labs (now called Planet). He also serves on the Advisory Council for METI International (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).  He has authored over 35 published works ranging from human Mars missions to the search for extraterrestrial life and space ethics, and is co-editor of the NASA book, Cosmos and Culture: Cultural Evolution in a Cosmic Context with previous NASA Chief Historian, Steven Dick. 

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