For other uses of the word, see cosmos (disambiguation)

The cosmos is the universe, especially when thought of as an orderly or harmonious system.

Sometimes the term cosmos is considered to be all that exists, whether it has been discovered or not. Some theologians use the term to denote the created universe, not including God. Many philosophers use the word cosmos and universe synonymously to include all that exists. Physicists often use the word universe in a technical way, referring to a space-time continuum; see cosmology.

The term is used in phenomenological aesthetics to describe the view of the world up until the rise of technology in the 20th century. The view of cosmos as "nature as self-sufficient, self-governing body" is in sharp contrast to the view of nature as merely mechanism for the growth of humans. In the cosmos world-view, man is a part of nature, whereas in the mechanism worldview, man dominates nature, it in turn bends to his will.

The philosopher Ken Wilber uses the term kosmos to refer to all of manifest existence, including various realms of consciousness. The term kosmos is used to distinguish this nondual universe (which, on his view, includes both noetic and physical dimensions) from the strictly physical universe that is the concern of the traditional ("narrow") sciences and is widely associated with the term cosmos.

Word origins

In English, it may also be spelled "kosmos". The word is derived from Greek.

See also

Multiverse, Big bang