This term comes from the Greek word kosmos, and literally means “order,” as opposed to “chaos.” The term is commonly used to describe the systems and laws of the universe (though these structures have now been called into question by quantum physics). Sagan sees the cosmos as a context for life on Earth: “We grow up in isolation. Only slowly do we teach ourselves the Cosmos” (10). In the development of scientific thought, the understanding of the universe depends upon the concomitant understanding of Earth’s place in it. This imbues the term cosmos with spiritual connotations, as humankind learns to find itself in a larger context.

In addition, the author is invested in the idea of exploring the cosmos as a physical reality and as an imaginative place. He hopes that science will help humanity comprehend the magnitude and importance of the universe: “if we are to deal with the Cosmos we must first understand it, even if our hopes for some unearned preferential status are, in the process, contravened” (193). Essentially, he suggests that, even if Earth’s place in the cosmos is prominent, the scientific evidence for what is possible in the universe should be accepted.