Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World
Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World
THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD reserved by the Bill of Rights, about what happens when you don't have them, and about how to exercise and protect them, should be an essential prerequisite for being an American citizen - or the citizen of any nation, the more so to the degree that such rights remain unprotected. If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power work for us. In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the enveloping darkness. 408
Acknowledgements It has been my great pleasure over many years to teach a Senior Seminar on Critical Thinking at Cornell University. I've been able to select students from all over the University on the basis both of ability, and of cultural and disciplinary diversity. We stress written assignments and oral argumentation. Towards the end of the course, students select a range of wildly controversial social issues in which they have major emotional investments. Paired two-by-two they prepare for a succession of end-of-semester oral debates. A few weeks before the debates, however, they are informed that it is the task of each to present the point of view of the opponent in a way that's satisfactory to the opponent - so the opponent will say, 'Yes, that's a fair presentation of my views.' In the joint written debate they explore their differences, but also how the debate process has helped them better to understand the opposing point of view. Some of the topics in this book were first presented to these students; I have learned much from their reception and criticism of my ideas, and want to thank them here. I'm also grateful to Cornell's Department of Astronomy, and its Chair, Yervant Terzian, for permitting me to teach the course, which, although labelled Astronomy 490, presents only a little astronomy. Some of this book has also been presented in Parade magazine, a supplement to Sunday newspapers all over North America, with some 83 million readers each week. The vigorous feedback I've 409
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- Page 425 and 426: References Xianghong Wu, 'Paranorma
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- Page 437 and 438: About the Author Dr Carl Sagan is a
THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD<br />
reserved by the Bill of Rights, about what happens when you<br />
don't have them, and about how to exercise and protect them,<br />
should be an essential prerequisite for being an American citizen -<br />
or the citizen of any nation, the more so to the degree that such<br />
rights remain unprotected. If we can't think for ourselves, if we're<br />
unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands<br />
of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their<br />
own opinions, then those in power work for us. In every country,<br />
we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the<br />
reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency,<br />
humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that<br />
we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands<br />
between us and the enveloping darkness.<br />
408
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