Cosmic Commons: Spirit, Science, and Space

by John Hart

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2013

Overview

Cosmic Commons explores terrestrial-extraterrestrial intelligent life Contact. It uses a thought experiment to consider the ecological-economic-ethical-ecclesial impacts of Contact, analyzing incidents around the world described by credible witnesses (two of whom are interviewed for the book), including Roswell and the Hudson River Valley. It discusses government and academic efforts to use ridicule and coercion to suppress Contact investigations, supports a scientific method to research ETI reports in a field that should excite scientists, and calls on academics to publicly disclose their Contact experiences. It traces Earth ecological and economic injustices to the European Enlightenment and the Discovery Doctrine by which European nations rationalized invasion of distant continents, genocide, and seizure of the territories and natural goods of native peoples. It advocates a change in humans' Earth conduct to avoid replicating in space the policies and practices that wrought economic injustice and ecological devastation on Earth, provides an innovative cosmosociological praxis ethics theory and practice toward that end, and develops a Cosmic Charter, based on UN documents, to guide humankind in space and in ETI encounters. Permeated by a profound sense of the sacred, Cosmic Commons explores a positive relationship between religion and science as humankind ventures into space.

Praise for Cosmic Commons

"Erudite and appealing, Cosmic Commons deserves to enrich many readers' thirst for knowledge and spiritual awakening."
--Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, 1986 Nobel Peace Laureate, and author of Night

"This book is unlike any you have ever read. Whether you believe there is evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence or not, Hart's creative and thoughtful reflections . . . will widen your ethical horizons."
--John F. Haught, Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Georgetown University

"Anyone who takes seriously the possibility that there may be intelligent life beyond the solar system should read John Hart's scholarly and detailed examination of what this might imply."
--William R. Shea, Galileo Professor of History of Science, University of Padua

"Clearly, we desperately need the transformation of consciousness that Hart lays out, not only for the sake of others we might encounter in space, but for our own sakes and those of the remaining others in our world, both human and not."
--Christine Gudorf, Professor of Religious Studies, Florida International University

"John Hart makes the case for there being life elsewhere in the universe, why humankind should search for it, and what sorts of ecological, social, and ethical interactions would likely develop between humans on earth and ETI, if ever found."
--Francisco J. Ayala, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine

"John Hart invites us to join him in . . . a powerful and moving commentary on human failure and insensitivity where indigenous, terrestrial civilizations have been encountered, suppressed, and even destroyed. Writing as a Christian ethicist deeply concerned about ecological destruction, he resists the shallowness of those scientists who glibly advocate our colonization of other worlds in order to escape a doom-laden earth. You don't have to believe in UFOs to appreciate his compelling argument."
--John Hedley Brooke, Emeritus Professor of Science and Religion, Oxford University

"Hart's driving concern is given what has been done to indigenous people in the name of 'civilization,' will this past be repeated if new civilizations are encountered. Hart has given us a thorough and thoughtful review of core elements in the social history of colonialism in the hope that past mistakes will not be repeated."
--Thomas A. Shannon, Professor Emeritus of Religion and Social Ethics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

"John Hart cautions us that as humans venture off earth into extraterrestrial exploration, we need to insure that the tragic history of euro-Christian colonialism and 'discovery' is not repeated in colonizing other terrain."
--Tink Tinker, Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions, Illiff School of Theology

Product Details

• Title : Cosmic Commons: Spirit, Science, and Space
• Author: Hart, John
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication Date: 2013
• ISBN: 9781630870577

About John Hart

Dr. Hart’s teaching interests are in the areas of social ethics, environmental ethics, liberation theology and ethics, and science and Christianity. His research interests and writing are focused particularly on issues of social and ecological justice, and on ecology as a bridge between science and religion. Internationally known for his work in social ethics and environmental ethics, he has given almost two hundred presentations, on four continents: in twenty-five U.S. states and in Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, Nepal and England. Dr. Hart promotes environmental care, and relates the religious and environmental communities. He served as editor and principal writer of the Midwestern Catholic bishops land pastoral, Strangers and Guests: Toward Community in the Heartland (1980); wrote the draft of Pope John Paul II’s Iowa homily on land stewardship (1979); and was the Project Writer for the Western U.S. and Canada Catholic bishops bioregional pastoral letter, The Columbia River Watershed: Caring for Creation and the Common Good (2001), on the ethics, economics and ecology of the region. He has been involved in the development and dissemination of the Earth Charter. He serves on the Board of Directors of both the Montana Wilderness Association and the Montana Environmental Information Center. Dr. Hart has worked with native peoples’ spiritual leaders and human rights activists, including as a Member of the Delegation of the International Indian Treaty Council (a Non-Governmental Organization accredited to the United Nations) to the U.N. International Human Rights Commission, Geneva, Switzerland (1987, 1990), and as an invited Observer at the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil while participating in the United Nations Earth Summit (1992).