Overview

This forward-looking unit examines humanity’s relationship with the rest of the cosmos through the understanding and exploration of space. We explore what it means for (some) humans to colonize space and ask what the benefits and risks of this are for all of us on planet earth. We also investigate what happens as humans get more in touch with outerspace - what does this mean for our understandings of ourselves and nature?

Requisites

Prerequisites

50 credit points

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
03-March-2025
01-June-2025
Last self-enrolment date
16-March-2025
Census date
31-March-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
24-April-2025
Results released date
08-July-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Critically discuss a range of philosophical questions related to space, its exploration and colonisation.
  • Systematically develop and defend a position on a topic about the implications of humanity’s move into outer space.
  • Evaluate philosophical perspectives and underlying assumptions regarding the colonisation of space.
  • Articulate possible scenarios for humanity's future that incorporate relational thinking.

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
On Campus
Class		 2.00  12 weeks  24
Live Online
Lecture		 1.00  12 weeks  12
Specified Activities
Various		 3.00  12 weeks  36
Unspecified  Activities Independent Learning 6.50  12 weeks  78
TOTAL     150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
EssayIndividual 50% 1,2,4 
JournalIndividual 30% 4 
Tutorial PresentationIndividual 20% 3 

Content

  • The “colonisation” of space – its historical, political and moral context, and what does the future hold?
  • From egoism to nihilism: Earth and the rest of the universe.
  • From seeing ourselves as the centre of the universe to imagining we have no meaningful place in it at all. How this affects our attitude to space and the role it plays in our lives?
  • The ethics of space exploration including economic impacts, environmental issues, how to prepare for “first contact".
  • Life, the universe, and everything: How does a consideration of alien lifeforms help us understand the nature of life itself?
  • Inner versus outer space: The subject/object distinction; abstract thought, creativity and imagination in technology development and how these factors contribute to our understanding of the cosmos.
  • Utopia/dystopia in science fiction, and how this continues to impact our approach to space exploration.

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.