Fifty years after Olaf Stapledon's landmark essay “Interplanetary man?”, we propose the coming era of “interstellar humanity”. Over the next 1000 years the domain of humanity will increasingly spread to the stars, a process that will alter our future in profound ways. At least three factors will drive this expansion f (l) increased understanding of cosmic evolution, chang- ing our perception of ourselves and our place in the universe; (2) contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, bringing knowledge, wisdom, and problems of culture contact now unforeseen, and (3) interstellar travel, transporting humanity's emissaries to at least the nearest stars. The consequences of these events are not predictable in detail, but may be studied by examining the lessons of cosmic evolution; by using history to analyze the reception of new world views and intellectual culture contacts on Eath; and by anticipating the likelihood of success in interstellar travel and its effects. The prospect of interstellar humanity during the next millen- nium is likely to have an effect on all branches of terrestrial endeavor, whether religion, philosophy, science or the arts. The stage of human drama will be vastly expanded.
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