Theme 7
Time and space
Image of a supermassive black hole from ESO’s VLT array from its Paranal Observatory facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert, April 2019.
No, we haven’t suddenly become theoretical or observational physicists (except for CJ)
Within this research theme, we will examine how temporality and physicality impact our lives, how we think about them and how they will change in the future.
Our view of the future is. clearly, scoped by time. As Augustine of Hippo observed of time, there is a three-fold present: (i) how, presently, we precieve and understand our past; (ii) how we experience the present moment; and (iii) our present expectations about the future.
Within this theme, we will examine topics such as
our understanding of history and how that influences our perceptions of the present and the future
How our physical geography determines and constrains the future
Our understanding of our planet
Our understanding of the West and what it is and what it means to be western
Leaving our planet; the , purpose, pull and price of space exploration
