In lecture yesterday we discussed the trajectory from atheism to deism and eventually theism observed in several scientist/theologians. Carl Sagan was never on that trajectory and remained an atheist until he died. Sadly, he died and has never been replaced as a spokesperson for the engagement of Science in popular culture. It just hasn't happened.
The essay that we looked was written by Sagan and published by his wife after his death in the book "Billions and Billions". It marked an interesting stage in Sagan's career where he realized that despite a life spent building a trusted public persona he had not been able to touch the core identity and values of the people he was addressing. Thus he began to try to find common ground with the "religious tribe" (as he called them). It must have been frustrating for him but it is revealing when thinking about the interaction of Science and Religion.
That said, those that liked Sagan, liked him alot. Even now, people are mining his words and productions to try to hear him speak once again. The latest in this series is the mash-up of Carl's words from Pale Blue Dot (another book where he discussed his successful attempt to get NASA to turn Voyager around and take one last photo of Earth while it was still visible).
It is worth listening to.
The essay that we looked was written by Sagan and published by his wife after his death in the book "Billions and Billions". It marked an interesting stage in Sagan's career where he realized that despite a life spent building a trusted public persona he had not been able to touch the core identity and values of the people he was addressing. Thus he began to try to find common ground with the "religious tribe" (as he called them). It must have been frustrating for him but it is revealing when thinking about the interaction of Science and Religion.
That said, those that liked Sagan, liked him alot. Even now, people are mining his words and productions to try to hear him speak once again. The latest in this series is the mash-up of Carl's words from Pale Blue Dot (another book where he discussed his successful attempt to get NASA to turn Voyager around and take one last photo of Earth while it was still visible).
It is worth listening to.
No comments:
Post a Comment