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Astronomy and political theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2011

Nicholas Campion
Nicholas Campion*
Affiliation:
Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales, Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales, SA48 7ED, United Kingdom email: n.campion@lamp.ac.uk
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Abstract

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This paper will argue that astronomical models have long been applied to political theory, from the use of the Sun as a symbol of the emperor in Rome to the application of Copernican theory to the needs of absolute monarchy. We will begin with consideration of astral divination (the use of astronomy to ascertain divine intentions) in the ancient Near East. Particular attention will be paid to the use of Newton's discovery that the universe operates according to a single set of laws in order to support concepts of political quality and eighteenth century Natural Rights theory. We will conclude with consideration of arguments that the discovery of the expanding, multi-galaxy universe, stimulated political uncertainty in the 1930s, and that photographs of the Earth from Apollo spacecraft encouraged concepts of the ‘global village’.

Keywords

SociologypoliticsMesopotamiaPlatonismComte
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S260: The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture , January 2009 , pp. 595 - 602
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

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