Berggruen Institute

Life, Otherwise explores the rapidly shifting assumptions about what we call “life” in an astrobiological context. A space of play and wonder, the project includes commissioned essays, simulations and models by leading thinkers who research humans’ most profound questions: Does life exist beyond Earth? If it does, would we recognize it? Fundamentally: How would the detection of extraterrestrial life transform our understanding about the evolution of biology on Earth — and lead to a generalized theory of the origin of life in the cosmos? Chapter I, Future Histories, proposes alternative pasts and possible futures of space science to inspire long-term thinking about life beyond Earth, from microbes, to humans, to machines. An immersive online platform featuring a collection of original essays and artworks, this collection draws inspiration from sci-fi, scenario planning, and what-ifs to suggest historians should exercise capacious methods of story-telling for new ways of thinking about t

Life, Otherwise explores the rapidly shifting assumptions about what we call “life” in an astrobiological context. A space of play and wonder, the project includes commissioned essays, simulations and models by leading thinkers who research humans’ most profound questions: Does life exist beyond Earth? If it does, would we recognize it? Fundamentally: How would the detection of extraterrestrial life transform our understanding about the evolution of biology on Earth — and lead to a generalized theory of the origin of life in the cosmos? Chapter I, Future Histories, proposes alternative pasts a