Life on Earth and Beyond
The History and Philosophy of the Origin of Life
Ven Island, Sweden, 30 May - 1 June 2022

Course Handbook
The handbook of the school can be downloaded here as a .pdf file.

General information

The aim of the summer school "Life on Earth and Beyond - History and Philosophy of Astrobiology: The Origin of Life" is to give participants a thorough overview of the scientific, historical, philosophical and ethical questions arising in this field. It is co-organised by the European Astrobiology Institute and Lund University. The course is open for students and scientists in humanities, natural, social and political sciences. The summer school will, amongst others deal with the following themes:

• Definition of life in a historical and philosophical context
• Philosophical challenges in defining life
• Biochemical evolution
• Evolution of biological functions
• Search for life outside Earth
• Philosophical, ethical and political questions arising with the quest for life on other celestial bodies

A preliminary programme of the summer course can be downloaded as a .pdf file here.

Poster sessions

The poster sessions will be held on Monday, May 30th 2022. They are aiming to allow participants to present their work, so even posters a bit remote from the course subjects are welcome. The poster boards are 1.80 m high and 75 cm wide. So DIN A0 in portrait format will be allright even if the edges of posters will be protruding a bit from the poster boards.

Excursions

On Tuesday May 31st afternoon, there will be a half-day's excursion around the island of Ven. We will visit the Tycho Brahe museum,the Uraniborg ruins and other sights off the island and learn about its history and geology. This excursion is included in thee course package.

Participants taking part in the "Third International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Astrobiology: Astrobiology and Society" in Höör (3rd -4th June 2022) and those who want to stay a bit longer will have the possibility to take part in a full day's excursion to the limestone formation Stevns Klint (where the Cretaceous- Tertiary boundary is clearly visible) on 2nd June. The fee for the excursion is EUR 85,- (to be paid via registration) and includes:

• Bus shuttle from the conference venue to Ven harbour on June 2nd morning
• Ferry from Ven harbour to Landskrona
• Bus tour from Landskrona to Rødvig and Stevns Klint and drop-off at either Copenhagen Airport (CPH, around 18:00) or at Åkersberg stiftsgård (venue of the The Origin of Life conference around 19:00).
• Lunch at the traditional Danish restaurant Rødvig Kro (probably buffet)
• 1 microbrewery beer or home made apple juice in addition to table water at lunch
• Visit of Rødvig cliff and Stevns klint cliff and the famous Højerup church
• Entrance and guided tour at Stevns Klint museum
• Coffee break with cakes