Big History and the Future of Humanity

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Spier, Fred
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:Inglés
Published: Newark : John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2015.
Series:New York Academy of Sciences Ser.
Subjects:
Electronic books.
Online Access:Texto completo
Table of Contents:
  • Intro
  • PRAISE FOR BIG HISTORY AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY
  • DEDICATION
  • TITLE PAGE
  • COPYRIGHT PAGE
  • TABLE OF CONTENTS
  • LIST OF FIGURES
  • LIST OF TEXT BOXES
  • PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • Bibliography
  • A SHORT TIME LINE OFBIG HISTORY
  • 1 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?
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 2 GENERAL APPROACH
  • Introduction
  • Matter and Energy
  • Complexity
  • Energy Flows and the Emergence of Complexity
  • The Goldilocks Principle
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 3 COSMIC EVOLUTION
  • 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
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 4 OUR COSMIC NEIGHBORHOOD
  • 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
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 5 LIFE ON EARTH
  • 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
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 6 EARLY HUMAN HISTORY
  • 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 Rise of Modern Humans
  • Early Religion
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 7 RECENT HUMAN HISTORY
  • Introduction
  • The Agrarian Revolution
  • The Developing Agrarian Regime
  • Social Effects of the Agrarian Revolution
  • The Emergence of Agrarian Religions
  • Increasing Agricultural Complexity and Declining Untamed Complexity
  • Early State Formation
  • The Emergence of Big States
  • The Emergence of Moral Religions
  • Energy and Complexity in State Societies
  • The First Wave of Globalization
  • Industrialization: The Second Wave of Globalization
  • Informatization: The Third Wave of Globalization
  • Energy, Complexity and Goldilocks Circumstances
  • Bibliography
  • Recommended Reading
  • 8 FACING THE FUTURE
  • Introduction
  • A Very Short Overview of the Long Future of the Universe

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