Politics as Life: Reimagining Political Philosophy from Biological Evolution to Cosmic Biology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Political Science, Faculty of Humanities, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
2 PhD student in Political Science, Public Policy, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22047/hsd.2026.543160.1099
Abstract
Background and Objective: The concept of "life" has long been marginalized in political philosophy, with traditional concepts such as power and social contract taking center stage. This article aims to redefine the foundations of political philosophy by placing "life" at its core, examining politics as an extension of life processes at biological, institutional, and cosmic levels. The objective is to provide a new framework for understanding concepts such as the state, justice, and security in light of Darwinian evolution and biocosm theory.
Method: This theoretical research employs a mixed methodology including conceptual analysis, comparative analysis, and analytical modeling. The study population consists of authoritative philosophical, biological, and cosmological texts, with purposive sampling of key sources. Data collection was conducted through library research and qualitative content analysis of texts.
Findings: The findings indicate that the state is redefined as an evolutionary institution, justice extends to intergenerational and biospheric levels, and security evolves from military defense to biospheric and cosmic protection. Transhumanism plays a central role in humanity's cosmic responsibility but introduces ethical challenges such as inequality.
Conclusion: The philosophy of political life offers a novel framework that views politics beyond power management, as a continuation of life processes across various scales. This framework paves the way for new theories such as "bioworld governance" and "cosmic justice," emphasizing the need for global collaboration and empirical research for their realization.
Keywords

Agamben, G. (1998). Homo sacer: Sovereign power and bare life. Stanford University Press.
Anjomrooz, M., & Khezri, M. (2025). Transhumanism and new challenges in political theories. Political and International Approaches, 17(2), 43–66. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.48308/piaj.2025.238931.1656
Axelrod, R. (1984). The evolution of cooperation. Basic Books.
Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, dangers, strategies. Oxford University Press.
Darwin, C. (1859). On the origin of species. John Murray.
Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. John Murray.
de Garis, H. (2005). The Artilect War: Cosmists vs. Terrans: A bitter controversy concerning whether humanity should build godlike massively intelligent machines. ETC Publications.
Esposito, R. (2008). Bios: Biopolitics and philosophy. University of Minnesota Press.
European Commission. (2020). The European Green Deal. European Commission.
Foucault, M. (1976). The history of sexuality, Volume 1: An introduction. Pantheon Books.
Future of Life Institute. (2017). Asilomar AI Principles. Future of Life Institute.
Gardner, J. N. (2003). Biocosm: The new scientific theory of evolution: Intelligent life is the architect of the universe. Inner Ocean Publishing.
Gardner, J. N. (2005). The intelligent universe. Futures, 37(2), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.03.026
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2012). Darwinian populations and natural selection. Philosophy of Science, 79(5), 2160–2170. https://doi.org/10.1086/668845
Griffith, R. L., Wright, J. T., Maldonado, J., & Povich, M. S. (2015). The Ĝ infrared search for extraterrestrial civilizations with large energy supplies. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 217(2), 25. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/217/2/25
Harari, Y. N. (2016). Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow. Harvill Secker.
Heylighen, F. (2012). A brain in a vat cannot break out: Why the singularity must be extended, embedded, and embodied. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 19(1-2), 1–20. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233679407_Brain_in_a_Vat_Cannot_Break_Out
Hodgson, G. M. (2008). Evolutionary and institutional economics as the new mainstream? Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, 4(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.14441/eier.4.1
Hofstadter, R. (1955). Social Darwinism in American thought. Beacon Press.
Last, C. (2017). Big historical foundations for deep future speculations: Cosmic evolution, atechnogenesis, and techno cultural civilization. Foundations of Science, 22(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-015-9446-9
Latour, B. (2017). Facing Gaia: Eight lectures on the new climatic regime. Polity Press.
Lipowicz, Markus (2023). Beyond Transhumanism: A Nietzschean Critique of the Cultural Implications of the Techno-Progressive Agenda. International Journal of Philosophical Studies 31 (4):522-546. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2023.2287640
Lynch, M. (2012). The Arab uprising: The unfinished revolutions of the new Middle East. Public Affairs.
Marks, J. (2009). Why I am not a scientist: Anthropology and modern knowledge. University of California Press.
Marx, K. (1867). Capital: A critique of political economy. Penguin Classics.
Morgenthau, H. J. (1948). Politics among nations: The struggle for power and peace. Alfred A. Knopf.
Moseley, A. (n.d.). Political philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://www.iep.utm.edu/polphil/
Musk, E. (2017). Making humans a multi-planetary species. New Space, 5(2), 46–61. https://doi.org/10.1089/space.2017.29009.emu
NASA. (2020). Mars exploration program. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA. (2022). Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2019). OECD AI Principles. OECD.
Orr, H. A. (2009). Fitness and its role in evolutionary genetics. Nature Reviews Genetics, 10(8), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2613
Philosophy Institute. (n.d.). Locke’s philosophy of knowledge. https://www.philosophy.institute/locke
Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice. Harvard University Press.
Rosenberg, A. (2012). Philosophy of science: A contemporary introduction. Routledge.
Smart, J. M. (2009). Evo devo universe? A framework for speculations on cosmic culture. Cosmos and Culture, 201–295.
Smart, J. M. (2012). The transcension hypothesis: Sufficiently advanced civilizations invariably leave our universe. Acta Astronautica, 78, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.11.010
Smolin, L. (1997). The life of the cosmos. Oxford University Press.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (2015). Paris Agreement. UNFCCC.
Webb, S. (2015). If the universe is teeming with aliens ... Where is everybody? Springer.
World Health Organization. (2021). Human genome editing: A framework for governance. World Health Organization.
Volume 7, Issue 13 - Serial Number 13
Humanities
Volume 7, Spring and Summer 2026, No. 13
October 2026
Pages 13-30

Supplementary File