Widening Perspectives: The Intellectual and Social Benefits of Astrobiology, Big History, and the Exploration of Space

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.

Who Speaks for Humanity? The Need for a Single Political Voice

“…I have argued previously (Crawford 2018a(Crawford , 2019) that many of these societal benefits result from the cosmic and evolutionary perspectives that are the natural, and in fact unavoidable, companions of astrobiology. It is not possible to be engaged in searching for life on Mars, or on planets orbiting other stars, without moving away from the narrow Earth-centric perspectives that dominate the social and political lives of most people most of the time.…”

“…Indeed, this was the explicit hope of several of the authors listed above 11 , as well as of more recent thinkers (e.g., Shapley 1963 12 ;Ward 1966 13 ;Goodenough 1998;Wilson 1998;Lupisella 2009;Bohan 2019; Chon-Torres 2020). I have provided a more extensive discussion of this argument elsewhere (Crawford 2018a(Crawford , 2019, so a couple of examples will have to suffice here.…”

Considering Grand Challenges in Undergraduate General Biology Education: Integration, Big History, and Scientific Literacy

“…The study of biology is usually defined as the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life on Earth. As such, the fields of big history and the biological sciences are both inherently interdisciplinary and are aligned well to promote a worldview infused by cosmic and evolutionary perspectives (Crawford 2019). It is well understood that most non-science majors are required to take at least one general education course in the sciences.…”