Go directly to Infographic.
The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars
Author: Jo Marchant. Publishing year: 2020.
The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars shows us how humanity’s relation with the night sky goes back to times immemorial. It is seen in the first artistic expressions, in cave paintings and in the mythology still surviving today. People have looked up to the sky for answers and for guidance. They have built their spiritual life around images seen in the stars, and they have used stars to navigate the world.
“ […] if we want to understand where we come from as a species, to reach the source of humanity’s earliest beliefs and identity, then we have to include a consideration of the wheeling night sky.”
Science Demystified the Human Sky
Somewhere along the way humanity stopped looking up. We have developed technology that allowed us to understand mysteries of the universe, conquer the skies and the seas. We now know why stars shine and how planets are formed. Despite this, the mythical past is still present in our daily lives.
“It’s a journey that takes us to the heart of what the universe meant to the very first humans who had the ability to imagine, remember, explain and represent. The cosmos they created still shapes our lives today.”
A Human Personal Cosmos
We can live in awe of the Cosmos without loosing our scientific knowledge and technical advancements. This book proposes we can have both an advanced scientific knowledge and have a personal, subjective experience of the Cosmos that is spiritual and emotional.
“Personal experience has been swept from our understanding of reality, replaced by the abstract, mathematical grid of space-science.”
Meaning of Life on Earth Starts with the Stars
“Instead of detailing the latest astronomical developments, this is a guide to the long history of knowledge that people have gleaned from the stars. It’s about what their view of the cosmos told them of the nature of reality and the meaning of life; […]”
Coming Full Circle
Our ancestors tried to make sense of the universe by inventing stories from images in the night sky. Today, we know so much more about how the universe works but have lost our cosmic perspective. We need to look up once again.
“I think we need a shift in perspective, an overview. Here, then is a book about the cosmos, not a scientific guide but a human one.”
This is an scientific explorations or human soul. Short and engaging read, it will make you re-think your connection with the Cosmos around you.