Outer space and internal nature: towards a sociology of the universe

Abstract

This article represents one step towards developing a sociology of humanity's relationship with the cosmos. It adapts a central question of sociological concern — how humanity transforms itself as it interacts with nature — to ask questions about how human subjectivities are affected by the increasing `humanization' of the universe and by developments in contemporary cosmology. The argument presented is that some (wealthy) sectors of society are increasingly relating to the universe in a narcissistic fashion, the roots of which can be found in the Renaissance `universal man'. At the same time, marginalized and less powerful people continue to experience the universe as a subject dominating their Earthly lives, a relationship heightened by the use of the universe in military and surveillance operations as well as abstract cosmologies. Problems with both these relationships with the universe are highlighted.