Before we delve into the theories and concepts behind cosmology, we need to accustom ourselves to what it is and what branch of “science” it comes under. The reason the word science is in quotes is that it isn’t really a science. While it may be overshadowed by a larger field of science, astrology, its unknowability and uniqueness may sometimes defy common scientific principles here on earth. There are many attempts to provide an actual provable scientific definition for the main question of cosmology, “What is the origin of our universe?” Today we will be taking one example of a bold hypothesis to this question.
-Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, proposed that, “the Sun had once been a hot fluid body extending beyond the present orbits of the planets” (link.springer.com). From this, we can understand that we were and still are very clueless about the existence of the universe. Before we take a look at some more bold conjectures, understanding what cosmology is in the first place is key.
-Cosmology is actually a part of metaphysics and not science. Metaphysics is defined as the studies of what cannot be reached through objective studies of material reality. Yet, why does cosmology come under this field? It is due to three reasons. The first reason is its ability to defy the Laws of Nature. When we try to come up with hypotheses for this question, how do we know that it may not follow the norms that we have for space? This goes hand in hand with the next reason which is unobservability. Since this universe is truly enormous, it sometimes may be hard to fully understand it. The last reason is the uniqueness of the field, as cosmology is a mix of two separate subjects philosophy and astrology. These three reasons separate it from the norms of science.
-In the next blog, we will explore some more bold conjectures that cosmologists have about the origins of our universe.