Outer Space and Internal Nature

Towards a Sociology of the Universe

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2321702
AutoresPeter Dicken, Peter Dickens (University of Essex), James S Ormrod (0000-0001-7562-0931, University of Essex)
Año2007
Volumen41
Número4
Páginas609-626
Fecha de publicación2007-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0385 • E-ISSN: 1469-8684
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038038507078915
OpenAlexW2069019341
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas22

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

Argument (complex analysis) · Art history · Astronomy · Cosmology · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Humanity · Parallel universe · Physics · Sociology · Space (punctuation) · Subject (documents) · The Renaissance · Universe · Computer Science · History · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices