Big History and the Future of Humanity

Fred Spier 지음

Wiley-Blackwell 2010년 12월 03일 출간

작품소개

책소개

Big History and the Future of Humanity presents an original theoretical approach that makes ldquo;big historyrdquo; n- the placing of the human past within the history of life, the Earth, and the Universe -- accessible to general readers while revealing insights into what the future may hold for humanity.Provides an accessible and original overview of the entire sweep of history that places human history within the history of life, the Earth, and the Universe Features an original theory of ldquo;big historyrdquo; which explains all of history and opens up an entirely new interdisciplinary research agenda Offers new insights into the future of humanity by better understanding the pastPresents a new approach to complexity studies, which takes into account the greatest galaxy clusters as well as the tiniest sub-atomic particles

목차

List of Figures.Preface and Acknowledgments.Chapter One: Introduction to Big History.Introduction.Studying the Past.A Very Short History of Academic History.A Short History of Big History.A Historical Theory of Everything?Chapter Two: General Approach.Introduction.Matter and Energy.Complexity.Energy Flows and the Emergence of Complexity.The Goldilocks Principle.Chapter Three: Cosmic Evolution: The Emergence of Simple Forms of Complexity.Introduction.The Big Bang: No Complexity.Recent Issues Concerning the Big Bang Scenario.The Radiation Era: The Emergence of Complexity at the Smallest Scales.The Matter Era: The Emergence of Complexity at Atomic and Molecular Scales.Galaxy Formation: The Emergence of Complexity at Larger Scales.The Emergence of Stars.Stars as Nuclear Forges.Chapter Four: Our Cosmic Neighborhood: The Emergence of Greater Complexity.Introduction.The Galactic Habitable Zone.The Emergence of Our Cosmic Neighborhood.The Solar System Habitable Zone.Major Characteristics of Earth.Early Inner Planetary History.Early Earth History.Life Is Very Special.The Emergence of Life.Chapter Five: Life on Earth: The Widening Range of Complexity.Life, Energy and Complexity.Planetary Energy Flows and Life.The Gaia Hypothesis.The Emergence of Energy Harvesting from Outside.The Emergence of the Biological Food Web.The Emergence of Multicellular Organisms.The Emergence of Brains and Consciousness.The Increase and Expansion of Biological Complexity.Conquest of the Land.Further Increasing Complexity.Chapter Six: Early Human History: The Emergence of the Greatest Known Complexity.Introduction.What Makes Humans Different.Energy and Complexity.The Emergence of Early Humans.Improving Social Coordination.Tool Making and Brain Growth.Brains and Intestines.Fire Control.Migration.The

출판사 서평

“Spier takes us one important step forward in making big history accessible to all.& I look forward to the next, more fully illustrated and documented, step in this process.”& (Journal of World History, 1 August 2012"This is a deep and important book that promises to send scholars in many different fields off on new paths in search of a grand unified theory of history." (Journal of Global History, 2011)"A volume rich in data, theories, and questions posed and answered. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." (Choice , 1 April 2011)"Personally, I think everyone should have access to this story, and I would put it at the heart of the national curriculum as well." (The Times Higher Education, September 2010)

작가정보

저자(글) Fred Spier

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Fred Spier is Senior Lecturer in Big History at the University of Amsterdam and also teaches Big History at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He is the author of Religious Regimes in Peru (1994), San Nicol#225;s de Zurite (1995), and The Structure of Big History: From the Big Bang until Today (1996).