Reviews
Sagan's style is pretty engaging and informative, even if he does tend to go after low-hanging fruit. Fortunately, so much has changed since the writing of this book -- there have been so many breakthroughs in technology, science, government, religion, and public opinion since 1997 that a lot of his examples of woo and attitudes toward it have drastically decreased in popularity due to the rise of the Internet. It's a good look back at a time not that long ago.
This book may be a little rudimentary for those who have loved science & critical thinking, but it is the perfect starting place for a fledgling skeptic. Sagan's writing style is more than enough reason for me to enjoy Demon Haunted World. Reading it, I could hear his voice in my head. Bits of it may seem outdated, such as the sections on UFOs, but the ideas can be applied to a myriad of more current conspiracies. And that's what is important about the book. It's about teaching yourself to think critically in any given situation.
I'm unsure what to make of this book: on one hand it's _really_ long, tedious, and boring. On the other hand it deals with the super important subject of the decline of scientific and critical thinking in our society that leads to Trump like demagogues. The range of subjects is breathtaking: particle physics, witch hunts, alien abductions, religion, state politics, democracies, and science. Especially scientists and critical thinkers ethical responsibility in: politics, war, education, baloney debunking, and public discourse. Reading this book through a 2020's lens, it's clear that the world failed to heed his words which left me a bit disheartened. I do think it will echo in the back of my mind for a long time. Recommended if you are interested in critical thinking and how it shapes our world.
Highlights
Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.
Whose interest does ignorance serve, if we humans bear hereditary propensities toward the hatred of strangers? Isn't self-knowledge the only antidote? If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits? In The Genealogy of Morals, Friedrich Nietzsche, as so many before and after, decries the unbroken progress in the self-belittling of man, brought about by the scientific revolution. Nietzsche mourns the loss of man's belief in his dignity, his uniqueness, his irreplaceability in the scheme of existence. To me, it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. Which attitude is better geared for our long term survival? Which gives us more leverage on our future? And if our naïve self-confidence is a little undermined in the process, is that altogether such a loss? Is there not cause to welcome it as a maturing and character building experience?
The very act of understanding is a celebration of joining — merging, even on a very modest scale, with the magnificence of the cosmos.