by David Grinspoon
Although written as a natural history of alien life, this thoughtful book has much to say about the Epic of Evolution and the origin of our universe. In order to tell us about extraterrestrial life, the author illustrates the history and future of life on our planet. Written by a space scientist, this book presents the notion of Cosmic Evolution, the story that shows we are on a trajectory “toward higher consciousness and spiritual enlightenment that transpires all over this universe.” This view acknowledges that without spiritual enlightenment, technology could destroy us first. In the chapter on “Astrotheology,” Grinspoon suggests that highly advanced spiritual beings are probably the ones with enough intelligence to travel long-distance in space. “Technical advancement without spiritual progress creates a dangerous and unstable condition that will be selected against. Natural selection on a galactic level will favor those living worlds where technical and spiritual advancement proceed together. Cosmic spiritual advancement by Darwinian natural selection!” Grinspoon suggests that the key to our long term survival is the integration of our scientific and spiritual capacities.