Cosmic evolution, the idea that the universe and its constituent
parts are constantly evolving, has become widely accepted only in
the last 50 years. It is no coincidence that this acceptance
parallels the span of the Space Age. Although cosmic evolution was
first recognized in the physical universe early in the 20th
century, with hints even earlier, the relationships among planets,
stars, and galaxies, and the evolution of the universe itself,
became much better known through the discoveries by planetary
probes and space telescopes in the latter half of the century. It
was also during the last 50 years-a century after Darwin proposed
that evolution by natural selection applies to life on our own
planet-that researchers from a variety of disciplines began to
seriously study the possibilities of extraterrestrial life and "the
biological universe." Considering biology from this broader
cosmological perspective has expanded biological thinking beyond
its sample-of-one straightjacket, incorporating biology into cosmic
evolution. Astrobiology is now a robust discipline even though it
has yet to find any life beyond Earth. But there is a third
component to cosmic evolution beyond the physical and the
biological. Even if we only know of culture on one planet so far,
cultural evolution has been an important part of cosmic evolution
on Earth, and perhaps on many other planets. Moreover, it also
dominates the other two forms of evolution in terms of its
rapidity. Humans were not much different biologically 10,000 years
ago, but one need only look around to see how much we have changed
culturally. Yet, unlike the study of biological evolution, which
has made great progress since Darwin's Origin of Species, the
scientific study of cultural evolution languished after Darwin's
death for the better part of a century. Only within the past few
decades has significant progress been made, and concerned with
advancing their fledging science, cultural evolutionists have yet
to expand their thinking beyond their current planetary
sample-of-one concerns. But if life and intelligence do exist
beyond Earth, it is likely that culture will arise and evolve. In
this volume authors with diverse backgrounds in science, history,
and anthropology consider culture in the context of the cosmos,
including the implications of the cosmos for our own culture.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
