The Outer Space/Inner Space Interface

As I noted in my most recent post, one of the tasks for the Human Space Program is to consider the interface between space exploration and spiritual/religious thought. Before even considering the questions surrounding spiritual and religious thinking, we should stipulate that the exploration of outer space must in fact have an impact on our inner spaces, i.e., our minds.

This is so because our brains hold an image of who we are and where we are in the universe as part of our fundamental identity. If we believe that the Earth is flat and the sky rotates above us, that is going to affect our identity, just as it will be influenced by the metaphor of "Spaceship Earth."

We cannot have a sense of "self" without having a sense of "other," and the most expansive "other" is going to be that which we conceive to be the greatest whole of which we are a part, whether it be universe, or God. In the case of the first "whole," the shift in perspective will be seen as scientific. In the case of the second, it will be seen as religious, or spiritual. The common theme, however, is the realization of our own identity as being part of something much greater than ourselves.

This means that when our understanding of the other changes, so must our understanding of self, since they are symbiotically related. And this is why the exploration of outer space inevitably affects the understanding of inner space.




(c) Copyright, Frank White, 2016, All Rights Reserved

The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution is available at aiaa.org and amazon.com 

The Human Space Program: 20 Projects

When I posed the idea of the Human Space Program in the first edition of The Overview Effect, it seemed to me that it would a good idea to offer a few "starting points" for the program. These items became a list of 20 components or projects that would establish the foundation for the overall program. It's worth noting that these are really intellectual exercises that have little or nothing to do with rocket ships and propulsion.

These are ideas that are concerned with creating the context for an exploration of the universe that will have positive benefits for humanity and the cosmos. They also form the underpinning for a true "philosophy of space exploration," a series of guiding principles that will help us to explore outer space in a positive and life-enhancing way.

The first of these 20 projects is stated as follows:

Analyze in more detail how exploration affects mental  and spiritual evolution. We know that there is an inner space/outer space interface, but we do not know enough about its operation.  Additional research into exploration  and its impact on mental and spiritual  outlook is needed.  What do great religious teachings of Earth say about outer space?


(c) Copyright, Frank White, 2016, All Rights Reserved

The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution is available at aiaa.org and amazon.com(To be continued)

The Human Space Program (IV)

In working on my current book, The Cosma Hypothesis, I have been giving a lot of thought to exactly what the Human Space Program would look like. At the moment, since I am the only person (as far as I know) who is pushing for it, the HSP can be almost anything, from a formal alliance of government programs to a nonprofit organization that advocates for international collaboration to a robust website!

There is no question that we have a lot of international collaboration going on now, and this can be a platform for something much larger. Moreover, we could certainly start a nonprofit that could be called "the Human Space Program," and it could be the locus for all activity in this area. At the other end of the spectrum, everything could be virtual, a simple blog or website that monitors activities that might quality for fitting into the Human Space Program.

The more I have thought about this issue, the more that it makes sense to start small and evolve. So, I have come to the conclusion that a website or blog is the best way to start. It could be this blog, but I am inclined to start something new that will reside under the Human Space Program terminology.

I welcome your comments on this approach.

(To be continued)

(c) Copyright, Frank White, 2016, All Rights Reserved

The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution is available at aiaa.org and amazon.com

The Human Space Program (111)

Think of the Human Space Program as a "central project" for all of humanity, a way to harness the best energies of the best minds and hearts on our planet in the exploration of the universe. What could be a greater thrill and a more powerful unifier than this idea?

I learned about central projects from my friend Bruce Shackleton and included a passage about them in my book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution. 

"Since beginning the Overview Project, I have come to see space exploration as part of a long tradition of central  projects. According to a book based  on research sponsored by Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell's  Institute  of Noetic Sciences, central  projects,  such  as the construction of the Gothic cathedrals and the Egyptian pyramids, are catalysts for social and personal transformation.

These projects, although involving visible  material artifacts, were actu­ally  the vehicles for more abstract social and  psychological aims. The great  cathedrals, besides serving as  highly  visible  central projects to attract the  best  and  most adventurous minds  of the age, also served to educate the consciousness of the larger  population. 1"

We need a central project for the 21st century!

(To be continued)

(c) Copyright, 2016, Frank White, All Rights Reserved

(1) The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution is available at aiaa.org and amazon.com

The Human Space Program (II)

The purpose of the Human Space Program, in my mind, is to lay out a strategy for exploring and developing the solar system that is consistent with the underlying principles of the Cosma Hypothesis. By that, I mean that we embrace the philosophy that we need to think of space exploration not only in terms of what it will do for humanity but also what it will offer to the universe.

The Cosma Hypothesis stands on the shoulders of the Gaia Hypothesis, which was originally developed by James Lovelock. He advanced the concept that life is not simply "along for the ride on Earth" but that living systems are an integral part of the planet.

Put more precisely, Wikipedia says the following:

The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis)

To take it a bit further, we can say that the Earth is alive, conscious, and intelligent because life, consciousness, and intelligence are all part of the Earth system through Homo sapiens and other sentient beings. (Combining the terms consciousness and intelligence, I use the term "contelligence." All of these elements exist within the universe as well because they exist on Earth. What we do not know is where these elements exist beyond our home planet.

Therefore, determining where life and contelligence exist is a central feature of the Human Space Program.

(To be continued)

The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution is available at aiaa.org and www.amazon.com

(c) Copyright, 2016, Frank White, All Rights Reserved

The Human Space Program (Part One)

In each edition of my book,
The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, I have proposed and discussed the idea that humanity create a Human Space Program, a global commitment to exploring the universe that will constitute a "central project" for our planet and all sentient beings living on it.

Here are the essential features of the program:

The Human Space Program

Purpose: to support humanity's understanding and achievement of its purpose as an active partner in universal  evolution, creating  overview systems that increase conscious awareness  throughout  the universe.

Vision: a universal civilization, a golden age, humanity  taking its rightful place as citizens of the universe.

Long-term goals: establishing planetary, solar, and galactic civilizations as steps to a universal civilization.

Immediate objectives: creating conditions for planetary  peace  and humanity's  migration to the solar system and the stars.

Participants: all human beings and other sentient  species.

Spatial parameters: the universe.

Temporal parameters: the millennium, 2000-3000.

Originally set forth in the first edition in 1987, I also included 20 projects that could be used to jumpstart the program and move it ahead.

In future posts of this blog, I will discuss the vision and purpose of the program in more detail, and then do the same with each of the projects.

(To be continued)

The "Wecosystem" (Part I)

Recently, I have been working on a new book called The Cosma Hypothesis. It builds on The Overview Effect, which focuses primarily on our relationship with the Earth in space, and considers our relationship with the universe (Cosma).

Underlying all of this work is the effort to develop a coherent "philosophy of space exploration." At this point, the main breakthrough is to consider this new philosophy to be non-anthropocentric, i.e., aimed at understanding how humans can benefit the universe as well as how the universe can benefit us (the latter being the starting point for most justifications for space exploration and development.)

Slowly but surely, we are beginning to understand that we are part of an ecosystem, which is defined as:

"A community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system. These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows." (Wikipedia)
This is a fine definition and it doesn't really need to be changed, but I wonder how our thinking might expand  if we thought of ourselves as being part of a "Wecosystem." A wecosystem is really the same thing as an ecosystem, but adding the "w" to it emphasizes that human beings ("we") do not stand apart from it, but are in fact a part of it.
In line with the Cosma Hypothesis, we should also bear in mind that, just because we leave the Earth, it does not mean that we are no longer embedded in a wecosystem. That system may now be somewhat larger and more expansive (a solar system vs. a planet), but our existence continues to be within it and everything we do resonates through it.
(To be continued)