Journal of Big History最新文献

{"title":"Genotemporality: The DNA Revolution and The Prehistory of Human Migration; A Review of David Reich, Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past","authors":"B. Wood","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3313","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3313","url":null,"abstract":"am attracted to big books that promise a gold mine of research data. Several years ago I ran across a second-hand, mint-condition volume at extraordinarily reasonable cost: Luca CavalliSforza’s magnum opus, The History and Geography of Human Genes (1994), an enormous book: 9 1⁄2 by 11 1⁄4 inches, 2 1⁄2 inches thick, 1088 pages. It was rich in charts and statistics, with maps that traced out the spread of agriculture from its origins a few thousand years ago across whole continents. Cavalli-Sforza (1922-2018) spent the second half of the 20th century attempting to work out prehistoric human migrations from differences in the genes of today’s human population, enriched “by bringing in as many relevant disciplines as possible, from historical demography to archaeology, paleoanthropology and linguistics, and perhaps ethnography, together with population and molecular genetics” (Cavalli-Sforza, 272). It was an ambitious and impressive goal—and ultimately beyond the capabilility of genetic science of the day; his work was done before the revolution in genetics that we might date from the complete sequencing of the human genome in 2001. Though Cavalli-Sforza’s work has been eclipsed by a tsunami of studies based on genetic sequencing, David Reich respectfully begins his book, Who We Are and How We Got Here (2018) honoring him: “This book is inspired by a visionary, Luca CavalliSforza,” noting that The History and Geography of Human Genes was the “high water mark” of his career. He was a pioneer in his early recognition of Genotemporality: The DNA Revolution and The Prehistory of Human Migration A Review of David Reich, Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past. New York: Pantheon Books, 2018, 335 pp. Barry Wood University of Houston","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133397946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Big History in its Cosmic Context","authors":"J. Voros","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3340","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3340","url":null,"abstract":"Current models of Big History customarily take the observed increases over cosmic time of material-energetic complexity as their central concept. In this paper, we use Erich Jantsch’s pioneering masterwork The SelfOrganizing Universe as the primary perspective from which to extend the customary ‘increasing materialenergetic complexity’ view of Big History in two principal ‘directions’. Firstly, outwards, with an emphasis on increasing scale, scope and context to consider whether non-terrestrial analogues of Big History might exist or have existed elsewhere, and thus to embrace the ‘sibling’ multidisciplinary fields of SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence), Astrobiology, and ‘Cosmic Evolution’. And secondly, inwards, with a focus on (human) consciousness and the increasing complexity of human cognitive experience (‘interiority’) that has been apparent over the time-frame we have been able to observe it. Since Big History is a narrative which necessarily includes our own awakening to conscious awareness—and the felt sense of ‘meaning’ which our interiority brings with it—it would be valuable to examine related models which might also allow for an integration or unification of the two perspectives of physical-objective material-energetic complexity, on the one hand, and the complexity of subjective-conscious interiority, on the other. This is important, because it might provide a pathway that could help resolve recent debates around whether, and if so where, ‘meaning’ might reside in Big History. Current models do not tend to have a clear way to do this, so a particular integrative framework is introduced and outlined—due to the philosopher of consciousness Ken Wilber—which seeks to unify the customary complexity of matter-energy view of Big History with a ‘complexity of consciousness’ view, and which thereby suggests a very natural way to resolve the question of meaning ‘in’ Big History. It also provides a useful framework for thinking about a third direction of exploration, namely onwards, towards the future of our civilisation (and even our species), in both explicit and implicit modes, each of which are also briefly outlined. We end with a dedication to the memory of Erich Jantsch and his work.","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122137487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is the Universe Enough? Can It Suffice as a Basis for Worldviews?","authors":"M. Lupisella","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3370","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3370","url":null,"abstract":"The modern scientific cosmic perspective is unique and compelling, but it is not for everyone. Modern cosmology can be humbling and awe-inspiring, even motivating It can also be overwhelming, even scary. The extent to which the universe we know today can form the basis of satisfactory worldviews rests largely on human psychology, preferences, and needs, as well as on what we mean by “worldview”. This essay will explore some ways to think about worldviews and the universe, with an emphasis on exploring relationships between cosmic evolution and cultural evolution (Dick and Lupisella), including what might be called “cosmocultural evolution” – the coevolution of cosmos and culture (Lupisella 2009). We will touch on a few cosmocultural evolutionary perspectives as well as broader underlying “cosmological theories of value”. With an eye toward psychology, we will consider if and how such perspectives might inform, or possibly suffice as worldviews, suggesting generally that the universe may suffice for some people some of the time, but probably not for most people most of the time. Correspondence | Mark Lupisella, Mark@HorizonsProject.org Citation | Lupisella, M. (2019) Is the Universe Enough? Can It Suffice as a Basis for Worldviews? Journal of Big History, III(3); 123 140. DOI | https://doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i3.3370","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134131089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introduction to the Special Issue on Expanding Worldviews: Astrobiology, Big History, and the Social and Intellectual Benefits of the Cosmic Perspective","authors":"I. Crawford","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3310","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"74 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115611277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How Big History Could Change the World for the Better","authors":"E. Bohan","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3330","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3330","url":null,"abstract":"Big History is ideally positioned to act as a major driver of social change through the promotion of a rigorous and accessible scientific origin story. This origin story appeals to our species’ universal predilection for storytelling and unifies key scientific theories across disciplines within a single, coherent narrative. Below, I identify two interrelated problems that Big History can help combat: suboptimal cultural knowledge priorities, and scientific illiteracy. I then explore how Big History can be part of the solution, with reference to my own experience teaching Big History in Australia. I argue that if taught globally and promoted as a core part of the assumed knowledge of every culture, Big History could help facilitate a much needed shift towards a more enlightened, rational, scientifically literate, and future conscious society. Correspondence | Elise Bohan, elise.bohan@students.mq.edu.au Citation | Bohan, E.. (2019) How Big History Could Change the World for the Better. Journal of Big History, III(3); 37 45. DOI | https://doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i3.3330","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116482395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the social impact of the Apollo 8 Earthrise photo, or the lack of it?","authors":"F. Spier","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3390","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3390","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, the various forms of contemporary news reports are explored of the Apollo 8 Earthrise pictures and whole Earth images photographed by the astronauts. Already during this flight to the Moon, that took place at the end of December of 1968, remarkable differences in perceptions, emotions, and interpretations emerged between the United States and Western Europe and, more likely than not, the rest of the world as well, concerning the Earth and humanity’s place on it. Furthermore, it appears that within both continents a considerable portion of the population was hardly affected by these pictures, if at all. These differences in perceptions have evolved over the past fifty years, while many of them continue to exist today. All of this will be examined in some detail with emphasis on what happened during and right after the flight of Apollo 8.","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128417418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“The keen longing for unified, all-embracing knowledge:” Big History, Cosmic Evolution, and New Research Agendas","authors":"D. Christian","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I3.3320","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123412708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Widening Perspectives: The Intellectual and Social Benefits of Astrobiology, Big History, and the Exploration of Space","authors":"I. Crawford","doi":"10.22339/jbh.v3i3.3312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i3.3312","url":null,"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.","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"211 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115549260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review of From Big Bang to Galactic Civilizations: A Big History Anthology","authors":"Jon Cleland Host","doi":"10.22339/jbh.v3i2.3270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i2.3270","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125916112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Exploration of Historical Transitions with Simple Analogies and Empirical Event Rates","authors":"D. LePoire","doi":"10.22339/JBH.V3I2.3210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22339/JBH.V3I2.3210","url":null,"abstract":"Various qualitative models have been suggested for major historical social and technological transitions. Many of these transitions still have puzzling aspects such as the early transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculturallybased society which required dramatically increased effort. Another puzzle is the emergence of the scientific and industrial revolution in Europe despite many previous similar discoveries in other regions. Explorations of simple models with aggregate, dynamic, and nonlinear processes might lead to insights of the unique aspects of each transition. Topics include the transitions between hunter-gatherers, agricultural societies, early civilizations, market development, capitalism, industrialization, and sustainable societies with factors of land-pressures, economies of scale, suppressed growth, and chain reactions. Many types of models could be applied to these transitions. First, basic characteristics, such as width and midpoint of the transitions, are determined by analyzing historical events contributing to the transition. However, this does give much insight into the dynamics or parameters of the transition. For more understanding, each of six transitions is explored with a simple phenomenological model. These simplified models do not attempt to quantitatively address the details of the actual historical mechanisms Instead analogies to more natural systems are invoked to gain insights. Correspondence | David J. LePoire, dlepoire@anl.gov Citation | LePoire, D. (2019) An Exploration of Historical Transitions with Simple Analogies and Empirical Event Rates. Journal of Big History, III(2);1 16. DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.22339/jbh.v3i2.3210","PeriodicalId":326067,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Big History","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116167833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}