Is astronomy the key to our wellbeing? If we “learn the harmonies and revolutions of the universe,” Plato wrote in the Timaeus, we will attain “the most excellent life offered to humankind by the gods.” The pre-Socratic philosopher Anaxagoras was even more dramatic:
And they say that when someone asked Anaxagoras for what reason anyone might choose to come to be born and to live, he replied to the question by saying that it was “to be an observer of the sky and the stars around it, as well as moon and sun,” since everything else at any rate is worth nothing.
For Anaxagoras, stargazing is the only thing worth doing. Without it, we would be better off not existing at all. These days, I’m sure, lots of people would be thrilled to gaze at the stars if the spectacle could offer them respite from what’s going on down here, let alone lead to “the most excellent life.” But can it?