Sociological analyses of knowledge have long demonstrated that systems of belief and scientific practice are socially situated, shaped by structures of authority, norms, and institutional power (Mannheim 1936; Berger and Luckmann 1966). Yet despite sustained engagement with the natural sciences, cosmology has remained largely peripheral within sociological theory, often treated as a technical domain external to social life. This paper argues that such marginalization reflects an implicit Earth-bounded assumption within the sociology of knowledge, one that limits sociological accounts of how knowledge concerning the universe is produced, regulated, and rendered authoritative.
Drawing on classical and contemporary contributions in the sociology of knowledge, science and technology studies, and theories of power and deviance (Merton 1973; Foucault 1980; Latour 1987). this paper conceptualizes cosmological knowledge as an institutionalized form of social knowledge rather than a purely descriptive account of physical reality. Through a theoretically informed examination of historical transformations in cosmological reasoning—particularly the emergence of experimental science and the social regulation of intellectual deviance—the paper demonstrates how cosmological frameworks have functioned as sites of epistemic authority, shaping norms of reasoning, legitimacy, and collective understanding.
The analysis further extends this framework to consider the sociological implications of cosmological knowledge beyond Earth-centered contexts, including technologically constrained and extraterrestrial environments. It is argued that such contexts may intensify mechanisms of epistemic control and normative regulation, thereby reproducing enduring tensions between collective cohesion and cognitive autonomy. Rather than offering speculative prediction, this extension highlights the theoretical limitations of existing sociological models that presuppose stable terrestrial social conditions.
By advancing a sociology of cosmological knowledge, this paper contributes to ongoing debates within the sociology of knowledge and science by identifying a neglected domain of social regulation and proposing a conceptual framework for its analysis. The paper concludes by outlining directions for theoretical refinement and empirical inquiry into the social consequences of thinking beyond Earth.