A Sense Of The Cosmos

Reflections on Happiness and Cosmology

Figure of the heavenly bodies — An illustration of the Ptolemaic geocentric system by Portuguese cosmographer and cartographer Bartolomeu Velho, 1568 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)

I. In Search of the Cosmos: A Plea for Astrology and Alchemy

You might find it an odd, not to say also an especially infelicitous, way to begin these reflections on the nature of happiness by offering up a special plea for astrology and alchemy. But hear me out.