On Our Cosmic (In)significance

ABSTRACT This article discusses three interpretations of cosmic significance, all of which reveal something important about the notion of significance. Along the way, it proposes a unified view of significance by combining elements of each of the views. It then moves on to analyse space endeavours, considering these views to investigate whether there are any grounds for thinking that grandiose space projects could be significant on the cosmic scale. Of the three space endeavours examined, planetary seeding fares best for cosmic significance. Nonetheless, this does not mean that we ought to seed planets, since the value of such activity remains uncertain, and in general significance is not something that we should have pro‐attitudes towards, as also malign things can be important.