Mapping the Varieties of Space Scepticism

Wednesday, 17 June 2026, 2pm to 3pm

The earliest variants of scepticism about the value of trying to extend human activity into space took the form of (mistaken) claims about physical impossibility, the classic variants involve an idea of threat. Lewis Mumford, Carl Schmidt and Hannah Arendt all raise concerns about space as a continuation of terrestrial trends including conflict and the domination of technology over the human. While there are occasional echoes of this in the contemporary scepticism of Daniel Deudney’s Dark Skies, contemporary scepticism has tended instead towards shallower populist narratives about elites and abandonment of the Earth. Two key questions will be explored. First, why have we ended up with the less plausible variants dominating sceptical discourse. Second, is any variant of space scepticism ultimately defensible?

Series: Space Ethics Series

Department: The Uehiro Oxford Institute (Department)

Organiser: UOI

Host: Uehiro Oxford Institute