Outer Space Doesn't Exist: On the Theory and Practice of Studying Astroculture

Lecture d'invité à NYU dans le series de communications Space TalksThe central thesis of this paper is that outer space doesn’t exist. This assertion-- mostly articulated in terms borrowed from Markus Gabriel's New Realism--may seem crazy or absurd, but it is rather less radical than it sounds, in no way involving the denial of the reality of the Moon, Mars, and the stars, and only insisting that the real location of outer space is in culture. The obvious importance of this claim for the study of astroculture is clear, if at first it may seem tantamount to denying the possibility or the legitimacy of the study of astroculture as it has been carried out up to the present. Yet recognizing that outer space doesn’t exist both legitimates the study of astroculture and sheds light on the nature of this endeavor. It also helps to see the limitations of outer space as a concept for thinking critically about the social, economic and ecological implications of the new space economy, and so clarifies why we may need to develop alternative and resolutely realist approach to the study of astroculture