Astrophilosophy, Exotheology, and Cosmic Religion

Extraterrestrial Life in a Process Universe

Andrew M. Davis, Roland Faber

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2024
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781666944372
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophical Metaphysics

Astrophilosopy, Exotheology, and Cosmic Religion: Extraterrestrial Life in a Process Universe applies Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy and the associated process philosophies of Henri Bergson, Teilhard de Chardin, and others to the interdisciplinary layers of astrobiology, extraterrestrial life, and the impact of discovery. This collection, edited by Andrew M. Davis and Roland Faber, asks questions such as "How have process thinkers imagined universal creative evolution and its implications for philosophies, theologies, and religions beyond earth?" and "How might their claims as to the primacy of organism, temporality, novelty, value, and mind enrich current discussions and debates across disciplines?"

As experts in their fields, the contributors are informed by, but not limited to, process conceptualities. The chapters not only advance recent discussions in astrobiology, cosmology, and evolution but also consider a constellation of philosophical topics, from shared extraterrestrial knowledge and values to the possibilities or limitations afforded by A.I. technology, the Fermi Paradox, the Drake Equation, and the increasing need to nurture the cosmic dimensions of theological and religious traditions.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Contents
• Figures and Tables
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Process Philosophy and Extraterrestrial Life: Past, Present, and Future
• Part I: Astrophilosophy
• Chapter 1: Prospects for a Universal Philosophy of Organism: Some Initial Reflections
• Chapter 2: The Cosmological Context of the Origin of Life: Process Philosophy and the Hot Spring Hypothesis
• Chapter 3: The Organic Universe and Otherworldly Lives: Bergson and Sagan
• Chapter 4: The Connection-Action Principle: A Basis for Process Philosophy, Cosmic Creativity, and Value?
• Chapter 5: Astrobiological Searches for Life and Shared Knowledge
• Part II: Exotheology
• Chapter 6: Evolution Connected to Theory of Value by Process-Relational Astrotheology and Cosmotheology
• Chapter 7: Astrobiology, Astrotheology, and Cosmic Consciousness
• Chapter 8: Astrobiology, Cosmotheology, and the Biological Universe: Implications for Religion and Theology
• Chapter 9: From Negation to Exemplification: A Deeper Whiteheadian Cosmotheology
• Part III: Cosmic Religion
• Chapter 10: Religious Belief and the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life: What’s Worldview Got to Do with It?
• Chapter 11: “Worlds as Numerous as the Grains of Sand of the Ganges”: Cosmic Pluralism and Swami Vivekananda’s Religion of the Future
• Chapter 12: Multiplicity without Tyranny: The Nonviolent Aim in Jainism and Whitehead’s Process Metaphysics
• Chapter 13: Extending the Noosphere into Intergalactic Life: Teilhard de Chardin and the Third Axial Age
• Chapter 14: Astrobiology without Biology: Will AI Be Our Emissary or Our Bottleneck?
• Chapter 15: A Darker Forest?: The Fermi Paradox and Extraterrestrial Spiritual Life (ETS)
• Epilogue: Theological Reflections on Extraterrestrial Life (1968)
• About the Contributors