Kala Perkins – Astrobioethics: Delving into the Ontology of our Cosmological Identity
Appreciating the radical complexity and interdependence of the living universe, what might be our human bioethical responsibility
in this universal artistry?
Our newest telescopes are offering us images and insights into the emergence of cosmic dawn, the first light and energy giving rise to this universe we inhabit. We are fathoming the cosmic structure, etched in spacetime by the first acoustic flux, gravity and forces we have yet to understand fully. Fascinatingly, we find the same filamentary structures of void cells and chains of galaxies reiterated on the scales of our biology, in our lungs, heart and neural networks.
We are inseparable from the cosmos in which we are immersed, participatory observers. The large-scale cosmic flows are reiterated on the micro-scale of our blood and plasma flows, and throughout the dynamism and forms of the entire Earthly natural order. Earth is literally responding to its immersion in the cosmic saturation of energy, the “cosmoplasm”, with all its rapture of creativity, from species to cultures and eco-systems.
From an origin of void darkness, there is an impulse; then a stream of electron-positron pairs from which light as a shower of photons radiates. What an amazing reality we inhabit, such that the consciousness we are now contemplates this moment of our complex civilizations, recognizing this Void origin. Many propose the primacy of consciousness, that cosmos emerges on the fabric of consciousness.
What are we, we may ask, that is alive? Is the universe alive? What are the ethical implications for how we live, how we relate to and cognise responsibility to live in concert with our cosmological and planetary immersion, and our fellow beings in this universal artistry? What might be the ontology of this cosmic choreography?
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About the speaker:
Kala Perkins is an astrobiologist/astrobioethicist and cosmologist teaching internationally at the science and culture nexus. She began her career at Columbia University, in Peace and Conflict/UN Studies, taught throughout New York schools and at SUNY Purchase, developing curriculum designs to incorporate astronomy into an integrated perspective on international and global relations. She worked with NGOs in India, and travelled throughout Asia, including two years with the Mongolian Science Academy at the close of the Cold War building bridges of science and culture. This was followed by ten years study, research and teaching of astronomy, astrobiology and cosmology in Australia, with a thesis at Australian National University. Here she also ran a community observatory, receiving Ministry of Arts grants for collaborative astronomer-artist exhibitions and performances. Returning to the US she completed a Masters in Bioethics, Certification in Pediatric Bioethics and Certification in Mindfulness and Meditation Practice. She continues to offer university lectures. A member of the American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union and COSPAR, she presents globally, and teaches internationally. Currently she is doing research and doctoral studies in AstroBioethics.
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Speaker
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Kala PerkinsAstrobiologist/ Astrobioethicist/ CosmologistKala Perkins is an astrobiologist/ astrobioethicist and cosmologist teaching internationally at the science and culture nexus. She began her career at Columbia University, in Peace and Conflict/UN Studies, taught throughout New York schools and at SUNY Purchase, developing curriculum designs to incorporate astronomy into an integrated perspective on international and global relations. She worked with NGOs in India, and travelled throughout Asia, including two years with the Mongolian Science Academy at the close of the Cold War building bridges of science and culture. This was followed by ten years study, research and teaching of astronomy, astrobiology and cosmology in Australia, with a thesis at Australian National University. Here she also ran a community observatory, receiving Ministry of Arts grants for collaborative astronomer-artist exhibitions and performances. Returning to the US she completed a Masters in Bioethics, Certification in Pediatric Bioethics and Certification in Mindfulness and Meditation Practice. She continues to offer university lectures. A member of the American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union and COSPAR, she presents globally, and teaches internationally. Currently she is doing research and doctoral studies in AstroBioethics.
