Big History and the Future of Humanity (eBook)

Fred Spier (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2015 | 2. Auflage
360 Seiten
Wiley (Verlag)
978-1-118-88171-2 (ISBN)

Infos

big history and the future of humanity "e;This remains the best single attempt to theorize big history as a discipline that can link core concepts and paradigms across all historical disciplines, from cosmology to geology, from biology to human history. With additional and updated material, the Second Edition also offers a fine introduction to the history of big history and a superb introductory survey to the big history story. Essential reading for anyone interested in a rapidly evolving new field of scholarship that links the sciences and the humanities into a modern, science-based origin story."e; David Christian, Macquarie University "e;Notable for its theoretic approach, this new Second Edition is both an indispensable contribution to the emerging big history narrative and a powerful university textbook. Spier defines words carefully and recognizes the limits of current knowledge, aspects of his own clear thinking."e; Cynthia Brown, Emerita, Dominican University of California Reflecting the latest theories in the sciences and humanities, this new edition of Big History and the Future of Humanity presents an accessible and original overview of the entire sweep of history from the origins of the universe and life on Earth up to the present day. Placing the relatively brief period of human history within a much broader framework one that considers everything from vast galaxy clusters to the tiniest sub-atomic particles big history is an innovative theoretical approach that opens up entirely new multidisciplinary research agendas. Noted historian Fred Spier reveals how a thorough examination of patterns of complexity can offer richer insights into what the future may have in store for humanity. The second edition includes new learning features, such as highlighted scientific concepts, an illustrative timeline and comprehensive glossary. By exploring the cumulative history from the Big Bang to the modern day, Big History and the Future of Humanity, Second Edition, sheds important historical light on where we have been and offers a tantalizing glimpse of what lies ahead.

Autor

Fred Spier is Senior Lecturer in Big History at the University of Amsterdam. He also teaches Big History at the Eindhoven University of Technology and Amsterdam University College. He is the author of The Structure of Big History: From the Big Bang until Today (1996) and a founding member and President of the International Big History Association.

Inhalt

List of Figures viii

List of Text Boxes x

Preface and Acknowledgments xi

A Short Time Line of Big History xx

Chapter One Introduction to Big History 1

Introduction 1

Studying the Past 2

A Very Short History of Academic History 12

A Short History of Big History 18

A Historical Theory of Everything? 29

Chapter Two General Approach 42

Introduction 42

Matter and Energy 45

Complexity 48

Energy Flows and the Emergence of Complexity 54

The Goldilocks Principle 63

Chapter Three Cosmic Evolution: The Emergence of Simple Forms of Complexity 74

Introduction 74

The Big Bang: No Complexity 75

Recent Issues Concerning the Big Bang Scenario 77

The Radiation Era: The Emergence of Complexity at the Smallest Scales 80

The Matter Era: The Emergence of Complexity at Atomic and Molecular Scales 86

Galaxy Formation: The Emergence of Complexity at Larger Scales 89

The Emergence of Stars 95

Stars as Nuclear Forges 100

Chapter Four Our Cosmic Neighborhood: The Emergence of Greater Complexity 107

Introduction 107

The Galactic Habitable Zone 110

The Emergence of Our Cosmic Neighborhood 111

The Solar System Habitable Zone 116

Major Characteristics of Earth 118

Early Inner Planetary History 122

Early Earth History 125

Life Is Very Special 126

The Emergence of Life 130

Chapter Five Life on Earth: The Widening Range of Complexity 140

Life, Energy and Complexity 140

Planetary Energy Flows and Life 147

The Gaia Hypothesis 149

The Emergence of Energy Harvesting from Outside 153

The Emergence of the Biological Food Web 156

The Emergence of Multicellular Organisms 160

The Emergence of Brains and Consciousness 162

The Increase and Expansion of Biological Complexity 166

Conquest of the Land 168

Further Increasing Complexity 170

Chapter Six Early Human History: The Emergence of the Greatest Known Complexity 179

Introduction 179

What Makes Humans Different 180

Energy and Complexity 183

The Emergence of Early Humans 185

Improving Social Coordination 188

Tool Making and Brain Growth 189

Brains and Intestines 193

Fire Control 194

Migration 197

The Rise of Modern Humans 200

Early Religion 205

Chapter Seven Recent Human History: The Development of the Greatest Known Complexity 214

Introduction 214

The Agrarian Revolution 220

The Developing Agrarian Regime 229

Social Effects of the Agrarian Revolution 232

The Emergence of Agrarian Religions 234

Increasing Agricultural Complexity and Declining Untamed Complexity 235

Early State Formation 240

The Emergence of Big States 245

The Emergence of Moral Religions 247

Energy and Complexity in State Societies 251

The First Wave of Globalization 256

Industrialization: The Second Wave of Globalization 264

Informatization: The Third Wave of Globalization 271

Energy, Complexity and Goldilocks Circumstances 276

Chapter Eight Facing the Future 295

Introduction 295

A Very Short Overview of the Long Future of the Universe 299

The Future of Earth and Life 300

The Future of Humanity 301

The Availability of Matter and Energy 304

Exhaustion of Critical Resources and Growing Entropy 309

Will Humans Migrate to Other Planets? 311

Final Words 313

Index 318

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 4.3.2015
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte
• Schlagworte: Cosmology • Geschichte • History • Kosmologie • Physics • Physik • Weltgeschichte • World History
• ISBN-10: 1-118-88171-0 / 1118881710
• ISBN-13: 978-1-118-88171-2 / 9781118881712