No, the Universe Is Not on Our Side

In the 1990 “pale blue dot” photograph that Carl Sagan asked NASA to take, we see the potential of a negative answer to Bernard Lonergan’s question to renew American public life. For Sagan, the isolation of the Earth in the cosmic vastness “underscores our responsibility to deal kindly with each other” and preserve our planet. The conclusion that the universe is not on our side is supported by numerous features of reality: lifeless matter, knowledge limited to the senses, death, decline, the vagaries of history, entropy of the universe, and more. We can accept living in this no. The universe is not hostile, merely neutral. Several thinkers show the way forward, especially John Gray. We can practice Simon Critchley’s faith of the faithless. The instrumental thought of Randy Barnett demonstrates how to construct healthy institutions. Anthony Kronman reminds us that our lives are meaningful only because of our mortality.