Distracted enchantment and public attitudes to space exploration

This chapter puts forward the notion of distracted enchantment. Space exploration can be understood as an example of what the classical social theorist Georg Simmel terms objective culture in that it opens up a body of knowledge so vast and expansive that it is deemed largely incomprehensible and inaccessible by most people. This notwithstanding, space programmes appeal to subjective culture in that they open up vistas of enchantment, connect with wider stories that form part of the extensive repertoire of popular culture, and, perhaps most significantly, provide a sense of meaning and future-oriented purpose even if the precise nature of the purpose is elusive.