No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Russian and American Cosmism: Religion, National Psyche, and Spaceflight
Abstract
A product of science, religion, and national culture, cosmism is reflected in academic and popular views about our place in the universe, space exploration, and human destiny. Although linked historically to the Russians, cosmism captures many aspects of American thinking about space. The present comparison shows that prophets, prophecies, striving for perfection, utopian visions, and hopes for salvation are evident in both Russian and American thought, but that there are also differences. Geert Hofstede's cross-cultural research on national values-power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance-is useful for understanding Russian-American differences. Russian acceptance of power inequalities, collectivism, concern for group welfare, and aversion to uncertainty lead to constellations of beliefs and emotions about spaceflight that differ from those bred by American egalitarianism, individualism, obsession with personal achievement, and acceptance of uncertainty. Both Russian and American thinking include occult and paranormal phenomena, but Americans have been more reluctant to assimilate such influences within mainstream science. As a concept, American cosmism captures the occasional blurring of the lines between religion and science in discussions of humanity's place in the universe and future in space.
... This race was both well-funded and applied a military-type, objectives-led framing of risk assessment, allowing much faster development and a more lax attitude to the possibility of serious danger to the astronauts and cosmonauts (Koman, 1994). In the setting of a war-like situation (even during the 'uneventful' Cold War) young, white, male, fighter-pilots were willing to sacrifice themselves on the altar of the greater good (Siddiqi, 2010) -scientific and technological dominance over the opposite state (block), with specific reference to existing cultural contexts (Harrison, 2013). However, as the Cold War drew to a close, the Space Exploration programmes became more benign in their objectives, although the risks expanded and materialised in genuine accidents, such that the initial military-driven risk framework collapsed and nearly took Space Exploration with it. ...
... Economic globalisation gives an excellent cover for the new narratives of 'commercial'/'private' driven collectivism and universalism, two claims which have in fact been notionally present from the early days of the Space Race (Harrison, 2013;Siddiqi, 2010). Thus, individuals, groups and organisations calling for greater space exploration stress the need for such action for humanity's survival, while also lauding its 'privatisation' and 'commercialisation' as the 'natural' evolution of this area of human activity and a sign of the maturity and future sustainability of these endeavours. ...
This paper outlines a series of observations about how public discourse is framed regarding the way risk assessment is conceived at the cutting edge of developing the scientific and technological frontier. Examining the newly emerging narratives concerning the future of outer space exploration and industry, particularly human missions to and settlements on Mars, I propose the concept of 'risk re-normalisation' as a major tool for reframing various aspects of the public discourse on risk through the premediation of visions and imaginaries. Specifically, as the risk-assessment discourse evolves, seemingly separate actors' under-and overstatements of hazards are used in public discourse to create a set of limiting parameters, thereby creating a more favourable risk governance environment for the further advancement of Space Exploration. This is underpinned by the discursive symbiosis of private and public spheres, once their rhetorical separation is achieved through boundary work.
... As sociologist Albert A. Harrison notes, space exploration has been long shaped by an intersection of ideas from science, religion, and national cultures that, together, generate cosmisms that shape and reflect academic and popular views about the place of humanity in the universe, the meanings of space exploration and expansion, and human destiny. 9 In the process of moving into space, humans will bring their religious ideologies, rituals, and symbols with them, but that same process will also change religion in complex and unpredictable ways. Not only will existing religions have their doctrines challenged as we move into space and potentially encounter other forms of life, but new religions will form that reflect the ideas and imaginations of those who venture beyond LEO and come to reside on the surface of other worlds. ...
... La implementación de leyes y normas es aplicada para medir los sesgos en la toma de decisiones, y se ha analizado que puede ser mediada por la regularización de las emociones; por ejemplo, al reevaluar el problema de elección, ya que la forma en la que ajustamos las emociones está determinada por la cultura (Wiley, 2016). Una vista panorámica y el respeto por las ideologías y formas de pensar son factores que llegan a determinar el fracaso o éxito en las relaciones entre países y, por lo tanto, también en las negociaciones comerciales internacionales y en la toma de decisiones (Harrison, 2013). ...
La toma de decisiones en los negocios internacionales es una acción que debe ser estudiada con detenimiento y profundidad, ya que diversos factores y variables pueden ser considerados. El análisis de esta acción permite contar con un panorama amplio, que dé soporte a la viabilidad y factibilidad de tan importante decisión. Entre los distintos enfoques que pueden tenerse en cuenta, el cultural puede dar una perspectiva realista y, sobre todo, oportuna de las posibilidades de éxito.
Este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal demostrar la aplicación del modelo de Geert Hofsetde en la toma de decisiones en los negocios internacionales, su importancia y utilidad. Los temas que aborda esta investigación respecto de la aplicación del modelo de Geert Hofstede en la toma de decisiones son: las negociaciones internacionales, el liderazgo y el emprendedurismo, la ética y el sistema de valores, la administración de negocios, así como el comportamiento del consumidor.
... In the social sciences, the question of the relationship between space exploration and religion is most frequently discussed from the standpoint that treats and critiques space exploration as akin to religion (Bjørnvig 2018;Geppert 2018;Harrison 2013;Siddiqi 2008Siddiqi , 2010Traphagan 2014Traphagan , 2016. Gorbanenko, in contrast, follows in the steps of a growing group of anthropologists of religion in space looking at the dialogue between space exploration and religion (Bialecki 2020;Bielo 2020;Weibel 2019) and new space religious practices (Weibel 2015(Weibel , 2016(Weibel , 2017. ...
... Astropolitik in spacepower competition has been the focal issue for the last couple of decades whither he argues that the rhetoric of political unity and cooperation had never been unfeigned (Sheldon, 2010). Therefore, states are continuously installing new strategies intending to secure dominance in outer space (Harrison, 2013). Not only the United States and Russia but also the other great powers, major powers even middle and mini-power states are also endorsing different strategies regarding space. ...
“Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age”, written by Everett Carl Dolman, is a remarkable work on the geopolitical importance of Space that the author explicated through the lenses of grand theories such as Realism, Liberalism, Sea Power Theory of Alfred Thayer Mahan and Geopolitical theories of Mackinder, Spykman and Friedrich Ratzel. This book, however, is one of the four books that are published in “Cass Series: Strategy and History” edited by Colin Gray and Williamson Murray. This is the fourth book of the series written by Everett Carl Dolman, an American Professor of Comparative Strategy and Military Studies at the ACSC (the US Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College). The book, titled ‘Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age’, has been published in 2002 by FRANK CASS PUBLICATION. This book mainly sheds light on ‘spacepower theory’ based on the theoretical standpoints and geopolitical frameworks of Space power and highlights the notions of cooperation and political unity in space. The series editors viewed Space as the theatre of ‘international terrestrial conflict’ which is named ‘Astropolitik’. From Cold War to the contemporary war and conflict such as the Ukraine crisis, every single juncture marks some crucial developments in strategy where Space is the inevitable theatre of conflict.
... Advocates of space exploration argue that human exploration (and utilization) of space has and will benefit all of humanity. Indeed, the rhetoric of space exploration has been, since at least the time of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, imbued with both techno-utopian and religious overtones by many of its advocates, many of whom speak in prophetic terms of a space faring human destiny [14][15][16][17]. The influence of the 'Spaceship Earth' metaphor [18], Apollo era Earth-rise photographs and what Frank White has called the "overview effect" [19] have been cited by numerous environmentalists as having an influence on the developing environmental movement of the 1970's as well as offering humanity a vision of the Earth absent the political divisions seen on maps. 1 Others take a more pragmatic approach, arguing that while space programs have already benefitted much of humanity, access to these benefits remains uneven and challenges remain for the future in this regard [20]. ...
Economically profitable resource exploitation in space is becoming increasingly feasible as more actors - national, public and private-are engaging in space exploration. The Outer Space Treaty (OST), which serves as the basis for the current corpus juris spatialis, declares that no government can claim sovereignty over celestial bodies or outer space itself. Because this is generally interpreted as denying private ownership, the OST is sometimes claimed to be an obstacle to commercial venture, particularly resource exploitation. Such claims ignore a wealth of terrestrial models which promote profitable commercial resource exploitation independent of fee-simple ownership. To achieve an approach to space exploration and exploitation which balances national, international, and commercial interests and a need to prevent conflict and militarization of outer space, terrestrial approaches to managing resource exploitation should be carefully examined for frameworks and mechanisms with potential to serve as models in further elaborating an international regime for space resource exploitation. A previously overlooked terrestrial example, the Alaska Permanent Fund, and its unique citizen's dividend, is explored as one possible model for such a balanced approach that could encourage profit-driven exploration and exploitation of extra-terrestrial resources, reduce the risk of conflict between actors in outer space and simultaneously accrue tangible benefits to all of humanity.
... More specifically, the films' panoramic realism perpetuates an intrinsically transnational and multicultural image of spaceflight through demythisizing the concept of American transcendental state centered around the idea of exceptionalism and destiny in space (Sage, 2014). Some late 20th century popular culture representations of space endeavours are likely to reinforce and promulgate the recently re-emergent and re-discovered spirit of Cosmism (Harrison, 2013) and space ethos (Harris, 1992), particularly due to the efforts of space advocacy groups, such as the National Space Society or the Planetary Society, which successfully deliver various pro-space messages to the American public. Also the IMAX depiction of a highly profitable Shuttle program, then perceived as a routine, low-cost and low-risk venture, has altered the image of space exploration by encompassing multinational and multicultural perspectives within its narration as well as targeting ordinary audiences. ...
Paul Bowles’s 1949 novel The Sheltering Sky explores the writer’s recurring theme—the Western traveler’s encounter with North Africa. Centered on the experiences of an American couple, Port and Kit Moresby, the novel maps their journey into the Sahara Desert as they flee the decadent, post-World War II America. Against existentialist interpretations of the novel which interiorize the desert and leave out the native culture, this reading foregrounds the role of the space and intercultural encounter in the protagonists’ experience. It is argued that the desert does not serve as a backdrop or a blank screen on which the characters project their fears and desires, but is produced as a space—Soja’s “Thirdspace”—that exceeds its physical and imagined components and involves mystery, agency and the power to transform the travelers’ lives. Analogously to the desert, the local culture is misapprehended, not just projected on; it is framed in conventional Orientalist tropes of opacity, unknowability, and exoticism. Colonialist attitudes, thus reenacted, erect a screen between the observer and the observed, the West and the East, preventing a meaningful encounter between the cultures. The incompatibility of the Western self with the local space and culture is figured in its expulsion from the desert—Port’s death and Kit’s mental disintegration.
... More specifically, the films' panoramic realism perpetuates an intrinsically transnational and multicultural image of spaceflight through demythisizing the concept of American transcendental state centered around the idea of exceptionalism and destiny in space (Sage, 2014). Some late 20th century popular culture representations of space endeavours are likely to reinforce and promulgate the recently re-emergent and re-discovered spirit of Cosmism (Harrison, 2013) and space ethos (Harris, 1992), particularly due to the efforts of space advocacy groups, such as the National Space Society or the Planetary Society, which successfully deliver various pro-space messages to the American public. Also the IMAX depiction of a highly profitable Shuttle program, then perceived as a routine, low-cost and low-risk venture, has altered the image of space exploration by encompassing multinational and multicultural perspectives within its narration as well as targeting ordinary audiences. ...
In this paper I present and discuss the relationship between the technological sublime, panoramic realism and American identity, as represented in some of the most remarkable space films produced by IMAX: Hail Columbia (1982), The Dream Is Alive (1985) and Destiny in Space (1994). While continuing the U.S. science documentary traditions of visualizing space-related concepts, the productions depict the missions of NASA’s Space Shuttle programme and its memorable moments, such as the first launch of Discovery or the crews’ stay on the shuttle. Their form, best exemplified by the late 1970s and 1980s space science documentaries, relied on a stunningly realist format and a mediated experience of the astronomical as well as technological and dynamic sublime, largely present in the U.S. and global space imagery. Particularly the latter concept, as developed by Marx (1964), Kasson (1976) or Nye (1994), is defined as a distinctively American formation and “an essentially religious feeling,” which has become “self-justifying parts of a national destiny, just as the natural sublime once undergirded the rhetoric of manifest destiny” (Nye, 1994, pp. 13, 282). Simultaneously, however, whilst imbued with some typically American space-related values and conventions, including the frontier myth or White’s Overview Effect, the IMAX films tend to perpetuate an intrinsically transnational and multicultural image of spaceflight through demythisizing the concept of American transcendental state centered around the idea of exceptionalism and destiny in space (Sage, 2014).
In April 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere and enter outer space. This achievement cemented the status of the Soviet Union as a global superpower and intensified its race with the United States to be the first nation to put a person on the Moon. However, what many people are far less aware of is that a proto-transhumanist and quasi-religious movement in the nineteenth century laid the philosophical foundations for the Space Race. At the same time, the writings of its main proponents continue to inspire beliefs at the confluence of religion, space exploration and spirituality. This movement was called Cosmism and was spearheaded by an unusual character named Nikolai Fyodorov, a librarian from Moscow whose idiosyncrasies became just as notorious as his radical beliefs about humanity colonising the Milky Way and using science to resurrect the dead. Fyodorov’s Common Task set out a grand plan for humanity’s future, one in which Homo sapiens would become a spacefaring species and construct a utopian civilisation among the stars. In 1953, Israeli political theorist Mordechai Nessyahu founded Cosmodeism which advocated a similar endeavour of human expansion into the extraterrestrial world but focused its beliefs around the prophecy that spaceflight will see humans eventually become gods in a presently godless cosmos. However, new developments have begun to take place in space religion in the twenty-first century with the youngest religion having been founded only a decade ago in 2013 whose followers are known as Astronists. Astronism repackages human space expansion as a sacred endeavour called transcension, the object of which is to see humanity escape the cosmos entirely and thus relieve itself of all limitations. Studying the interplay between these three space religions will demonstrate how they have contributed to art and film, astronautics and spaceflight, philosophy and literature.
This final chapter draws the discussion on the governance of maritime and outer space together beginning with the philosophical implications and significance of both sectors and how these interrelate. The benefits and drawbacks and the public attitude to outer space are discussed and then the significance of religion to both sectors. Individualism and its importance in both is outlined. Power and its relationship to governance for both sectors is considered along with its geopolitical dimension, polycentricity and the nation-state. Ethics are central to both maritime and outer space exploration and exploitation, and this leads in to a further consideration of colonialism, empire-building and the possibility of alien life. Finally, the chapter ends with a wide discussion of art, architecture, music and painting in both sectors and how these relate to the wider considerations of governance in both the maritime and outer space sectors.
This chapter provides a detailed discussion of the history of exploration and exploitation of outer space, its geopolitical positioning and place in society, and in so doing it provides a wide-ranging framework for a consideration of its governance and in comparison with that of the maritime sector. It also provides the basis for suggested developments for governance in the future in the light of a wide range of considerations.Fundamental outer space governance principles are proposed and issues such as property rights, tourism, mineral exploitation, ethics, morals and the role of aliens are discussed. Philosophical considerations are detailed including issues such as commodification and markets, infantile narcissism, power balance and its significance to those central to outer space, religion (including Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism and Islam) and the pro-space movement. The contribution and significance of architecture, literature and art are also outlined, whilst the different relationship of outer space to political conventions including capitalism and the historical importance of Marxism/communism in the USSR is considered.
Despite evidence that shows how the support for space programs correlates with liberal political views and a lower level of religiosity, recent data suggest that more conservative positions may have an even more substantial effect under the appropriate conditions. Using the available data from Pew's American Trends Panel, we seek to clarify this interactional effect of political and religious preferences on the level of interest in the space programs and commitment to space politics support among Evangelicals as it changed during Trump's presidency. Our research hypothesizes that during this time, the simultaneous presence of nationalist views in both accounts of politics and religion may be linked to the underlying concept of “space nationalism,” that is, the belief that the United States should lead in space exploration, resulting in an increased level of support for space programs. This article presents the results of several iterations of linear regression models. Controlling for robust sociodemographic variables, our findings show a statistically significant effect of nationalist views and religious beliefs. Our results confirm that a combination of nationalism and religious views is a robust predictor of Evangelicals' space exploration support.
Chapter 2 touches on precedent related to the book’s themes, including views and concepts that emphasize the importance of cosmic evolution and potential significance for life and intelligence. This chapter explores the breadth and diversity of a range of views such as (1) cosmological eschatology that focuses on the very far future of cosmic evolution, (2) “cosmic sacredness” that emphasizes a deep reverence for the cosmos and its evolution, (3) “evolutionary developmental” views that emphasize the evolutionary developmental nature of the universe and the potential to give rise to other universes through the evolution of intelligence, (4) “participatory universe” views that leverage extreme interpretations of quantum theory to suggest that observation and consciousness give rise to reality, and (5) science fiction that explores questions of significance for life and intelligence in a cosmic context.
Seit ihrem Beginn ist die Raumfahrt Untersuchungsgegenstand verschiedenster Disziplinen. Auch die Philosophie hat seither eine kritische Perspektive auf diese Aktivität eingenommen. Und doch fehlt es bislang eines philosophisch-systematischen Zugangs, mit einem genuin ‚anthropologischen‘ Gesichtspunkt. Diese Lücke wird immer offensichtlicher, seitdem sich, nach Entdeckung der ersten Exoplaneten, neue ‚Astro-wissenschaften‘ (z.B. Astrobiologe, Astrokognition, Astrosoziologie) gebildet haben, die explizit Menschen als Raumfahrer voraussetzen bzw. menschliche Eigenschaften auf ihre ‚Ablösbarkeit‘ hin diskutieren. Mit vorliegender Masterarbeit soll der Versuch gemacht werden, die notwendigen Präsuppositionen, für das Verständnis von Menschen als ‚raufahrende Lebewesen‘, aufzudecken, ohne naturalistische oder kulturalistische Verkürzungen zu betreiben. Zu diesem Zweck wird der systematische Rahmen von Helmuth Plessners Philosophischer Anthropologie gewählt, da dieser eine umfassende ‚spezies-neutrale‘ (d.h. es erlaubt über Menschen, Tiere und Extraterrestriker gleichermaßen nachzudenken, ohne ‚anthropozentrische‘ oder ‚speziesistische‘ Vorurteile zu machen) Untersuchung des infrage stehenden Sachverhaltes bietet. Um diesen Rahmen zu exemplifizieren, und währenddessen den philosophisch-systematischen Ansatz zur Raumfahrt zu elaborieren, der raumfahrende Extraterrestriker ohne Anthropomorphisierung konzeptualisieren, wie auch den Umgang mit Extraterrestrikern in ethischer und politischer Hinsicht berücksichtigen kann, werden die Themenkreise der Astrobiologie, Astroethik und Astropolitik in einzelnen Kapiteln besprochen. Abschließend ist, entgegen aller Erwartung, der gewählte Ansatz als ‚kritisch-posthumanistische‘ Option zu verteidigen.
The article is dedicated to the significance and prospects of developing a new research field — astrosociology. Space studies have traditionally been the prerogative of science and technology, whereas social and cultural aspects of space exploration have barely been looked into. How can space related isssues enter the field of social science? What do sociologists have to say about a human society that travels to outer space, survives in space, imagines space? These questions bring forth bilateral connections between mankind and space, namely the ways in which space affects social life and vice versa. The author identifies and characterizes three modes of astrosociological research: astrosocial studies, studies of astroculture, and studies of astropolitics. In the first case, space is regarded as an extra-social factor, in the second – as a social and cultural construct, and in the third, more specifically, as a matter of public opinion. However, the boundaries of these three research spheres are indefinite, and together these areas of study form a multi-dimensional and as of yet obscure interdisciplinary field. This article’s aim is to conceptualize this field and raise social scientists’ awareness of its potential for further research. © 2018, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Dr. Albert A. Harrison’s sudden and untimely death in February 2015 ended an extremely productive and influential career as a rare social scientist – specifically a social psychologist – who focused on space issues such as SETI, astrobiology, planetary defense, space-based folklore, behavioral health, the human elements associated with spaceflight, and space settlement. His formidable collection of work actually contributed to building a foundation for astrosociology, a field that was established toward the end of his career in 2004. He worked with other social scientists but also with those in the space community, including contributing to several NASA projects and publications. While Dr. Harrison’s early work was not aimed at helping to legitimize astrosociology, it demonstrated that social science was relevant and undoubtedly indispensable to space exploration research. And indeed, it did have that effect once he began to support the development of the field approximately one year after this author introduced it. In fact, he became the first member of the Astrosociology Research Institute’s Board of Advisors in 2005. Thus, his contributions not only supported the field of astrosociology, but they also provided social scientific insights to the space community and demonstrated the importance of space-based research to the social science community. His focus on the human dimension of outer space – that is, the importance of people, culture, and society – provides a legacy that must be recognized and presented to anyone interested in space education and research. His career-long focus on collaboration among all scientists, whether they focused on STEM subjects or human subjects, is perhaps Dr. Harrison’s most important contribution. He also helped push for the multidisciplinary approach that astrosociology took on at an early stage. Therefore, this paper looks at Dr. Harrison’s career as a model for what can be accomplished with collaboration between the two branches of science (i.e., the physical and natural sciences vs. the social sciences, humanities, and the arts), and it further projects how this approach can benefit space exploration and settlement in the future. Humans are involved with every aspect of the exploration of space, even when they sent landers, rovers, and probes to other cosmic bodies; and what they do affects societies and their citizens. In summary, the objective of this exercise focuses on demonstrating that (1) social scientists, humanists, and artists can contribute much to space research and education through an examination of Dr. Harrison’s career and (2) we need to take better advantage of this fact.
Discussions concerning science and technology convergence too often ignore the social sciences. This is not the case here, as the focus is on a relatively newly emerging and increasingly relevant social science field. Astrosociology is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field that promotes and represents convergence of the physical/natural sciences and the social/behavioral sciences on all matters pertaining to humanity’s interests and activities in space and the consequences of these activities for people on Earth. While political science and economics have sustained a strong interest in space, interest on the part of anthropology, sociology, and several fields of psychology has been low. Also, with the exception of selected space science research areas including astrobiology, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the protection of the Earth from asteroids and comets, the receptivity of physical and natural scientists to inputs from the social and behavioral sciences has been low. Increasing synergy between the “hard” and “soft” sciences requires increasing interest within both the social and behavioral sciences and encouraging receptivity on the part of physical sciences. This chapter emphasizes the need for convergence, the barriers to convergence, and potential approaches to reduce these barriers. Achievement of unprecedented levels of collaborative synergy is possible with increased levels of sustained convergences. This is possible by increasing social science literacy among the public and “hard scientists” and developing win-win research projects that accommodate varied interests and goals. SETI, astrobiology, and planetary defense serve as specific examples of successful convergence efforts, though they involve social scientists in relatively small numbers. These examples demonstrate both the limited successes and the largely untapped potential of the social sciences to contribute to space education and research.
Discussions concerning science and technology convergence too often ignore the social sciences. This is not the case here, as the focus is on a relatively newly emerging and increasingly relevant social science field. Astrosociology is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field that promotes and represents convergence of the physical/natural sciences and the social/behavioral sciences on all matters pertaining to humanity’s interests and activities in space and the consequences of these activities for people on Earth. While political science and economics have sustained a strong interest in space, interest on the part of anthropology, sociology, and several fields of psychology has been low. Also, with the exception of selected space science research areas including astrobiology, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the protection of the Earth from asteroids and comets, the receptivity of physical and natural scientists to inputs from the social and behavioral sciences has been low. Increasing synergy between the “hard” and “soft” sciences requires increasing interest within both the social and behavioral sciences and encouraging receptivity on the part of physical sciences. This chapter emphasizes the need for convergence, the barriers to convergence, and potential approaches to reduce these barriers. Achievement of unprecedented levels of collaborative synergy is possible with increased levels of sustained convergences. This is possible by increasing social science literacy among the public and “hard scientists” and developing win-win research projects that accommodate varied interests and goals. SETI, astrobiology, and planetary defense serve as specific examples of successful convergence efforts, though they involve social scientists in relatively small numbers. These examples demonstrate both the limited successes and the largely untapped potential of the social sciences to contribute to space education and research.
Astrotheology explores the relationship between theology and space exploration to identify elements of religion and myth in discussions of space science and to prepare people for possible future developments. So far, the dominant focus has been the search for extraterrestrial life and intelligence. This paper broadens the discussion to include human life in outer space. Like religion, spaceflight has its prophets and evangelists, visions of utopia, transcendent experiences and promises of salvation. Spaceflight raises new questions for astrotheologians, in such areas as religious observance in space, ethics, and how spaceflight may influence traditional religions or give rise to new movements. Rather than ignoring links between religion and spaceflight, space scientists and advocates should seek to understand how religion influences human attitudes towards and activities in space.
The task of astrotheology is to speculate on the theological, cultural, and ethical implications of space exploration, especially the exploration of astrobiologists into the (1) origin of life; (2) a second genesis of life; and (3) expansion of life beyond earth. When assumptions within the field of astrobiology are examined, we find that the Darwinian model of evolutionary development is imaginatively projected onto extrasolar planets; and this model includes a built-in doctrine of progress. The assumption of progress within evolution permits astrobiologists to look forward to contact with an extraterrestrial civilization that is more intelligent and more advanced than that on earth. Such an extraterrestrial civilization will allegedly have an advanced science that can save earth from its primitive and under-evolved propensity for violence. However, no empirical evidence for a more highly evolved or advanced civilization currently exists, despite these beliefs. The theologian labels the constellation of scientific assumptions here the “ETI myth.” Astrotheology celebrates hard-nosed empirical science and even encourages space exploration; but the mythical assumptions regarding the doctrine of progress within evolution are here given critical analysis.
The American and Russian/Soviet space programs independently uncovered psychosocial risks inherent in long-duration space missions. Now that these two countries are working together on the International Space Station (ISS), American-Russian cultural differences pose an additional set of risk factors. These may echo cultural differences that have been observed in the general population of the two countries and in space analogue settings, but little is known about how relevant these are to the select population of space program personnel. The evidence for the existence of mission-relevant cultural differences is reviewed and includes cultural values, emotional expressivity, personal space norms, and personality characteristics. The review is focused primarily on Russia and the United States, but also includes other ISS partner countries. Cultural differences among space program personnel may have a wide range of effects. Moreover, culture-related strains may increase the probability of distress and impairment. Such factors could affect the individual and interpersonal functioning of both crewmembers and mission control personnel, whose performance is also critical for mission safety and success. Examples from the anecdotal and empirical literature are given to illustrate these points. The use of existing assessment strategies runs the risk of overlooking important early warning signs of behavioral health difficulties. By paying more attention to cultural differences and how they might be manifested, we are more likely to detect problems early while they are still mild and resolvable.
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovskii (1857–1935), a half-deaf physics and mathematics teacher in the then obscure provincial town of Kaluga, is considered to be the ‘father’ or even ‘grandfather’ of Soviet space travel. At the end of his life, the shy ‘eccentric from Kaluga’ (kaluzhskii chudak, as he was called) had been made into a hero by Soviet propaganda. However, it was the era of space travel that truly made Tsiolkovskii a cult figure. He was celebrated as ‘one of the greatest Russian scientists’, ‘a brilliant son of the people’ and ‘a prophet of a new era’. A huge monument was built in Moscow in front of the Hotel Kosmos in his honour; his modest wooden house in Kaluga was turned into a museum; his portrait was on stamps, medals, matchboxes (see Figure 4.1) and postcards; streets, schools and a large crater on the far side of the moon were named after him; and the story of his life became the basis of a film, with the poet Evgenii Evtushenko playing the lead role.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a controversial school of Russian thinkers emerged, convinced that humanity was entering an advanced stage of evolution and must assume a new, active, managerial role in the cosmos. This book offers a dynamic and wide-ranging examination of the lives and ideas of the Russian Cosmists. Although they wrote as scientists, theologians, and philosophers, the Cosmists addressed topics traditionally confined to occult and esoteric literature. Their writings explored the extension of the human life span to establish universal immortality; the restoration of life to the dead; the regulation of nature so that all manifestations of blind natural force were under rational human control; the effect of cosmic rays and other particles of energy on human history; and practical steps toward eventual human control over the flow of time. Suppressed during the Soviet period and little noticed in the West, the ideas of the Cosmists have in recent decades been rediscovered and embraced by many Russian intellectuals. The book offers a sympathetic analysis of the ideas of the Cosmists within the contexts of Russian philosophy, Russian religious thought, and Western esotericism.
This work is written for both layman and scientist. Is there a higher power in the universe? What happens to us when we die? Is there a heaven? For modern scientists the answer has been that there is no proof, no indication that the universe is anything other than a cold, unknowing place, that human beings are accidents of evolution and that when we die, our consciousness disappears into oblivion. This work rebuts this approach and presents a purely scientific argument for the existence of God and the physical resurrection of the dead. Frank Tipler is the author (with John Barrow) of "The Anthropic Cosmological Principle".
This article follows the evolution of the relationship between the Russian space program and spirituality from an astrosociological perspective. It demonstrates that the Russian space program has its roots in Nikolai Fedorov's Cosmism, which envisaged the technological resurrection of the dead and space colonization, and in Marxism, which used space exploration as a means of proving atheism. Whereas the conquest of space has been perceived throughout the world in an ambivalent way, either as an act endorsed by Divinity or as a blasphemous feat, the Soviets took pride in reinventing the “Tower of Babel” in order to “make a name for themselves” and dethrone God (Genesis 11:4). Moreover, the technological miracles of spaceflight and the worship of Yuri Gagarin support the view that Soviet Communism was a state religion. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Orthodox Christianity brought its own contribution to the Russian space program. It will be also shown that, even during the Soviet period, appearances contrasted with the feelings of many of the cosmonauts.
“Earth is the only luxury passenger liner in a convoy of freighters loaded with resources. These resources are for us to use, after Earth has hatched us to the point where we have the intelligence and the means to gain partial independence from our planet—and where the time has come to convert our Earth from an all-supplying womb into a home for the long future of the human race, finally born into the greater environment of many worlds.” Krafft A. Ehricke, a space age pioneer, is Chief Scientific Adviser, Advanced Programs, Space Division, North American Rockwell. This article is based on a talk to the National Space Meeting of the Institute of Navigation, Huntsville, Alabama in February 1971. It contains excerpts and condensations from a forthcoming book of the same title by the author and E. A. Miller, to be published by Doubleday, Inc.
Although we have yet to confirm the existence of even microbial extraterrestrial life, some scientists portray extraterrestrial civilizations as ancient utopian societies where wise and benevolent immortals dwell in peace and prosperity while eagerly awaiting the opportunity to help fledgling societies such as our own. Recently, Ted Peters argued that, despite reassurances to the contrary, religion and myth are the bases for these scientific speculations. Whereas it is not possible to disprove his thesis, there are alternative paths to such optimism. The longer a civilization persists, the more likely it will overlap our civilization in time and thus be detected by us. Over the centuries, terrestrial societies have become more inclusive, more democratic, more peaceful, and more altruistic, and I propose that these trends reflect deep natural processes that would affect all societies everywhere. Societies following these trends endure, while those that rely on threat and coercion shine but a brief moment in historical time. Although religious response would be varied, the best available evidence refutes the claim that the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence would constitute a triumph of science over religion. Theologians and religious leaders help with the search by broadening and deepening the discussion, engaging the public, strengthening our sense of humanity, and fostering hope.
This essay explores the place of the Apollo program in the popular recollection of Americans more than 30 years after the last Moon landings in 1972, partly through a discussion of films and popular music. The collective memory of this singular episode in the history of the USA has altered over time. It has taken on mythical qualities, as well as a nostalgia for a time long gone. From a postmodern, post-cold war perspective Project Apollo appears increasingly unique, an experience born out of cold war rivalries long gone in which a demonstration of American technological capability was required. Many in the spaceflight community seek to become a multi-planetary species, and they point to Apollo in an increasingly mythical way as a representation of something that should be replicated. But the circumstances that made Apollo succeed have long since passed.
The introduction will set out the principal theme of the book: that the rise of the U.S. space program was due to a concerted effort by science writers, engineers, industrialists, and civic and political leaders to create a popular culture of space exploration based on important elements of American social life (such as frontier mythology, fears about the cold war, and the rise of the consumer culture). Much of the disillusionment with the NASA space program which set in during the third decade of space flight can be traced to a widening gap between popular expectations and the reality of space exploration.
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
- Robert D Putnam
- David E Campbell
Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010).
Deluded Celebrities, International Power Brokers, and the Erosion of Common Sense
- Francis Wheen
- Idiot
- Proof
Francis Wheen, Idiot Proof: Deluded Celebrities, International Power Brokers, and the Erosion of Common Sense (New York: Public Affairs, 2004), 121.
The Red Rocket's Glare: Spaceflight and the Soviet Imagination
- A Asif
- Siddiqi
Asif A. Siddiqi, The Red Rocket's Glare: Spaceflight and the Soviet Imagination (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010);
Spaceflight and Popular Culture
- Ron Miller
Ron Miller, ''Spaceflight and Popular Culture,'' in Steven J. Dick and Roger Launius, eds., Societal Impact of Spaceflight (Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2007), 509.
Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown
- Gordon Cooper
Gordon Cooper and Bruce Henderson, Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown (New York: HarperCollins, 2000), 67–69.
The Apostles of Apollo: The Journey of the Bible to the Moon and the Untold Stories of America's Race into Space
- C E Mersh
C. E. Mersh, The Apostles of Apollo: The Journey of the Bible to the Moon and the Untold Stories of America's Race into Space (Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2011).
Cosmic Enlightenment: Scientific Atheism and the Soviet Conquest of Space Into the Cosmos: Space Exploration and Soviet Culture
- Victoria Smolin
Victoria Smolin-Rothrock, ''Cosmic Enlightenment: Scientific Atheism and the Soviet Conquest of Space,'' in James T. Andrews and Asif A. Siddiqi, eds., Into the Cosmos: Space Exploration and Soviet Culture. (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011), 159–194.
Cosmic Enlightenment
- Smolin
Smolin-Rothrock, ''Cosmic Enlightenment.''
Memories of Space and Spaces of Memory: Remembering Sergei Korolev
- Slava
- Gerovitch
Slava Gerovitch, ''Memories of Space and Spaces of Memory: Remembering Sergei Korolev,'' in Maurer, Richers, Ruthers, and Scheide, eds., Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Societies, 85–102.
Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age
- David A Clary
David A. Clary, Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age (New York: Hyperion Books, 2003).
How We Got to the Moon: The Story of the German Space Pioneers
- Marsha Freeman
Marsha Freeman, How We Got to the Moon: The Story of the German Space Pioneers (Washington, DC: 21st Century Science Associates, 1993).
Dreams of Space and Crimes of War
- Dennis Piszkiewicz
Dennis Piszkiewicz, Dreams of Space and Crimes of War (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995).
The Anthropology of Astronautics Astronautic
- A Krafft
- Ehricke
Krafft A. Ehricke, ''The Anthropology of Astronautics,'' Astronautic, November 1957, 26–28, 65–68.
Space Activism as an Epiphanic Belief System National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-tration
- Wendell Mendel
Wendell Mendel, ''Space Activism as an Epiphanic Belief System,'' in Steven J. Dick and Roger Launius, eds., Societal Impact of Spaceflight (Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-tration, 2007), 573–583.
This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age
- William E Burrows
William E. Burrows, This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age (New York, NY: Random House, 1998).
Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age
- Greg Klerkx
Greg Klerkx, Lost in Space: The Fall of NASA and the Dream of a New Space Age (New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 2004), 6.
Cross-Cultural and Spaceflight Psychology
- G Draguns
- Albert A Harrison
and see Juris G. Draguns and Albert A. Harrison, ''Cross-Cultural and Spaceflight Psychology,'' in Douglas A. Vakoch, ed., In Orbit and Beyond (New York: Springer, in press).
Cold War Theaters: Cosmonaut Titov at the Berlin Wall
- L Heather
- Gumbert
Heather L. Gumbert, ''Cold War Theaters: Cosmonaut Titov at the Berlin Wall,'' in Andrews and Siddiqi, eds., Into the Cosmos, 240–262.
A Dream Come True: Close Encounters with Outer Space in Soviet Popular Scientific Journals of the 1950s and 1960s
- Matthias Schwartz
Matthias Schwartz, ''A Dream Come True: Close Encounters with Outer Space in Soviet Popular Scientific Journals of the 1950s and 1960s,'' in Eva Maurer, Julia Richers, Monica Ruthers and Carmen Scheide, eds., Soviet Space Culture in Socialist Societies. (Houndmills, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 232–265.
The Way of the Explorer
- Edgar Mitchell
Edgar Mitchell and Dwight Williams, The Way of the Explorer (New York, NY: Putnam, 1996).
Cosmic Humanity When SETI Succeeds: The Impact of High Information Contact
- J Steven
- Dick
Steven J. Dick, ''Cosmic Humanity,'' in Allen Tough, ed., When SETI Succeeds: The Impact of High Information Contact (Bellevue, WA: Foundation for the Future, 2000), 93–102.
Looking for God and Space Aliens
- Donald E Tarter
Donald E. Tarter, ''Looking for God and Space Aliens,'' Free Inquiry 20 (Summer 2000): 38–39.
The Trickster and the Paranormal (Philadelphia: Ex Libris
- George P Hansen
George P. Hansen. The Trickster and the Paranormal (Philadelphia: Ex Libris, 2001).
The Occult in Russia Today
- Holly Denio
- Stephens
Holly DeNio Stephens, ''The Occult in Russia Today,'' in Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, ed., The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997), 357–378.
Space Enterprise: Living and Working Offworld in the 21st Century
- Phillip R Harris
Phillip R. Harris, Space Enterprise: Living and Working Offworld in the 21st Century (Chichester, UK: Springer-Praxis, 2009).