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The Demon-Haunted World

January 31, 2023

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is a 1995 book by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan and co-authored by Ann Druyan,[1] in which the authors aim to explain the scientific method to laypeople and to encourage people to learn critical and skeptical thinking. They explain methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science and those that can be considered pseudoscience. Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration, they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking and should stand up to rigorous questioning.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Cover of the first edition
AuthorCarl Sagan
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectsScientific skepticism
Science
Philosophy
PublisherRandom House
Publication date
1995/1997
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages457
ISBN0-345-40946-9
OCLC32855551
001.9 20
LC ClassQ175 .S215 1995
Preceded byPale Blue Dot 
Followed byBillions and Billions 

Themes

Sagan explains that science is not just a body of knowledge, but is a way of thinking. Sagan shows how scientific thinking is both imaginative and disciplined, bringing humans to an understanding of how the universe is, rather than how they wish to perceive it. He says that science works much better than any other system because it has a "built-in error-correcting machine".[2]: 27  Superstition and pseudoscience get in the way of the ability of many laypersons to appreciate the beauty and benefits of science. Skeptical thinking allows people to construct, understand, reason, and recognize valid and invalid arguments. Wherever possible, there must be independent validation of the concepts whose truth should be proved. He states that reason and logic would succeed once the truth were known. Conclusions emerge from premises, and the acceptability of the premises should not be discounted or accepted because of bias.

Dragon in my garage

See also: Falsifiability

As an example of skeptical thinking, Sagan offers a story concerning a fire-breathing dragon who lives in his garage. When he persuades a rational, open-minded visitor to meet the dragon, the visitor remarks that they are unable to see the creature. Sagan replies that he "neglected to mention that she's an invisible dragon". The visitor suggests spreading flour on the floor so that the creature's footprints might be seen, which Sagan says is a good idea, "but this dragon floats in the air". When the visitor considers using an infrared camera to view the creature's invisible fire, Sagan explains that her fire is heatless. He continues to counter every proposed physical test with a reason why the test will not work.

Sagan concludes by asking: "Now what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true."

Continuing with concepts relevant to the 'dragon in my garage' story, Sagan writes about a patient of John Mack who claimed to have scars on her body which were from encounters with aliens. Sagan writes that if the patient is asked what her scars look like, she is unable to show them because, unfortunately, they are located in the private areas of her body.

Baloney detection kit

Sagan presents a set of tools for skeptical thinking that he calls the "baloney detection kit".[3][4]: 210 [5] Skeptical thinking consists both of constructing a reasoned argument and recognizing a fallacious or fraudulent one. In order to identify a fallacious argument, Sagan suggests employing such tools as independent confirmation of facts, debate, development of different hypotheses, quantification, the use of Occam's razor, and the possibility of falsification. Sagan's "baloney detection kit" also provides tools for detecting "the most common fallacies of logic and rhetoric", such as argument from authority and statistics of small numbers. Through these tools, Sagan argues the benefits of a critical mind and the self-correcting nature of science can take place.

Sagan provides nine tools as the first part of this kit.

  1. There must be independent confirmation of the facts given when possible.
  2. Encourage debate on the evidence from all points of view.
  3. Realize that an argument from authority is not always reliable. Sagan supports this by telling us that 'authorities" have made mistakes in the past and they will again in the future.
  4. Consider more than one hypothesis. Sagan adds to this by telling us that we must think of the argument from all angles and think all the ways it can be explained or disproved. The hypothesis that then still hasn't been disproved has a much higher chance of being correct.
  5. Try your best to not purely stick to a hypothesis that is your own and become biased. Sagan tells us to compare our own hypothesis with others to see if we can find reasons to reject our own hypothesis.
  6. Quantify. Sagan tells us that if whatever we are trying to explain has numerical value or quantitative data related to it, then we'll be much more able to compete against other hypotheses.
  7. If there is a chain of argument, every link in that chain must be correct.
  8. The use of Occam's razor, which tells us to choose the hypothesis that is simpler and requires the least amount of assumptions.
  9. Ask if a given hypothesis can be falsified. Sagan tells us that if a hypothesis cannot be tested or falsified then it is not worth considering.

Sagan suggests that with the use of this "baloney detection kit" it is easier to critically think and find the truth.

Logical fallacies

There is a second part to the kit that Sagan gives us. This consists of twenty different logical fallacies that one must not commit when offering up a new claim.

  1. Ad hominem. An arguer attacks the opposing arguer and not the actual argument.
  2. Argument from authority. Someone expects another to immediately believe that a person of authority or higher knowledge is correct.
  3. Argument from adverse consequences. Someone says that something must be done a certain way or else there will be adverse consequences.
  4. Appeal to ignorance. One argues a claim in that whatever has not been proved false must be true, and vice versa.
  5. Special pleading. An arguer responds to a deeply complex or rhetorical question or statement by, usually, saying "oh you don't understand how so and so works."
  6. Begging the question. An arguer assumes the answer and makes a claim such as, this happened because of that, or, this needs to happen in order for that to happen.
  7. Observational selection. Someone talks about how great something is by explaining all of the positive aspects of it while purposely not mentioning any of the negative aspects.
  8. Statistics of small numbers. Someone argues something by giving the statistics in small numbers, which isn't very reliable.
  9. Misunderstanding of the nature of statistics. Someone misinterprets statistics given to them.
  10. Fallacy of inconsistency. An arguer is very inconsistent in their claims.
  11. Non sequitur. This is Latin for "it doesn't follow." A claim is made that doesn't make much sense, such as "Our nation will prevail because God is great."
  12. Post hoc ergo propter hoc. Latin for "it happened after, so it was caused by." An arguer claims that something happened because of a past event when really it probably didn't.
  13. Meaningless question. Someone asks a question that has no real meaning or doesn't add to the argument at all.
  14. The excluded middle. An arguer only considers or mentions the two opposite extremes of the conversation and excludes the aspects in between the two extremes.
  15. Short-term vs. long-term. A subset of the excluded middle, but so important it was pulled it out for special attention.
  16. Slippery slope, related to excluded middle (e.g., If we allow abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy, it will be impossible to prevent the killing of a full-term infant. Or, conversely: If the state prohibits…)
  17. Confusion of correlation and causation. The latter causes the former
  18. Straw man. Caricaturing a position to make it easier to attack. This is also a short-term/long-term fallacy
  19. Suppressed evidence, or half-truth.
  20. Weasel word. Talleyrand said: "An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public." 

Sagan provides a skeptical analysis of several examples of what he refers to as superstition, fraud, and pseudoscience such as witches, UFOs, ESP, and faith healing. He is critical of organized religion.[citation needed]

In a 2020 interview for Skeptical Inquirer, when Sagan's wife Ann Druyan was asked about the origin of the phrase "baloney detection kit", she said that

It didn't really come from Carl. It actually came from a friend of mine named Arthur Felberbaum who died about forty years ago. He and Carl and I once sat down for dinner together. His politics were very left wing, so Carl and Arthur and I were trying to find common ground so that we could have a really good dinner together. And at one point, Arthur said, "Carl, it's just that I dream that every one of us would have a baloney detection kit in our head." And that's where that idea came from.[3]

Misuse of science

Sagan indicates that science can be misused. Thus, he is highly critical of Edward Teller, the "father of the hydrogen bomb", and Teller's influence on politics, and contrasts his stance to that of Linus Pauling and other scientists who took moral positions.[citation needed]

Sagan also discusses the misuse of science in representation. He relates to the depiction of the mad scientist character in children's TV shows and is critical of this occurrence. Sagan suggests an addition of scientific television programs, many of which would take a look at believed hoaxes of the past and encourage viewers to engage in critical thinking to better represent science on popular television.

Misuse of psychiatric authority

Sagan indicates that therapists can contribute to the growth of pseudoscience or the infusion of "false stories". He is critical of John Mack and his support of alien abduction cases, which were represented in his patients.

Sagan writes about the story of Paul Ingram. Ingram's daughter reported that her father had sexually abused her. He was told that "sex offenders often repressed memories of their crimes."[6] Ingram was eventually able to have a foggy visualization of the claimed events, and he suggested that perhaps "a demon might be responsible."[6] Sagan describes how once Ingram started remembering events, so did several other individuals and family members. A "memory recovery" technique was performed on Ingram, and he confessed to the crimes. A medical examination was done on his daughter, where none of the scars she described were actually found. Sagan writes that Ingram later tried to plead innocence once "away from his daughters, his police colleagues, and his pastor."[6]

Reception and legacy

The book was a New York Times bestseller.[7] The contemporary skeptical movement considers it an important book.[8][9][10][11] The Demon-Haunted World has been criticized (in Smithsonian magazine and The New York Times) for not incorporating certain information relevant to the items he discusses in his book. The Smithsonian article by Paul Trachtman argues that Sagan relates issues of government choices and declining scientific thinking skills to pseudoscience topics like astrology and faith healing but ignores other issues that may be causing governmental bodies and other individuals to turn away from science. One such issue is consequences of pouring governmental money into cancer research. Trachtman writes, "it is not because of such beliefs that Congress now approaches the NIH budget with an ax. In fact, billions of dollars spent on years of research in the war on cancer have spawned growing professional bureaucracies and diminishing medical benefits."[12] Trachtman argues that Sagan does not include problems like growing bureaucracies and diminishing medical benefits as reasons for a lack of scientific attention. In his review for the New York Times, James Gorman also argues for an unaddressed issue in Sagan's book, saying Sagan fails to emphasize the idea that scientists should take a more active role in reaching science to the public, while he does mention the failures of the education system to do so.[13]

The review in the Smithsonian magazine and a review in the New York Review of Books provide a range of opinions on Sagan's attitude towards religious ideas. Per the New York Review article, "when it comes to the Supreme Extraterrestrial he is rather circumspect."[14] A review from the University of Phoenix agrees that Sagan carefully approaches the concept of religion: "Readers should be aware that Sagan touches on sensitive areas in the cultural sphere, such as religion and where it stands in science, but handles the topics in such a way as to not offend."[15] The Smithsonian article suggests Sagan was very clear about his religious beliefs in the book, for he "splits his universe in two, into science and irrationality." The Smithsonian goes on to say that Sagan's defined religious views fall within the area of an untestable claim, a type of claim he argues against in The Demon-Haunted World.[12]

The article in the New York Review also claims that Sagan includes something in The Demon-Haunted World which he also is arguing against in that same text. The article mentions how Sagan discusses a natural predisposition people have towards science; but, the article says, "He does not tell us how he used the scientific method to discover the "embedded" human proclivity for science."[14] Sagan heavily discusses the importance of using the scientific method in his book, and this article claims he strays away from his own message by not including a description of his use of the scientific method on this topic.

An article in the Los Angeles Times and the University of Phoenix review both describe Sagan's book positively. The Los Angeles Times describes Sagan's book as "a manifesto for clear thought", with the main issue being the length of eight chapters.[16] This lengthy discussion is also addressed in the archived New York Times article,[17] as well as the University of Phoenix review which relates to the book as having areas which repeat themselves.[18] The latter article agrees with the use of The Demon-Haunted World as a text to provide tools for clearer thinking: "Sagan writes in an engaging style, using dry wit and humor, to get his point across regarding the need for everyone to practice aspects of scientific thinking in their daily lives."[19] This article also discusses the ability of The Demon-Haunted World to help beginner researchers and students learn about the importance of critical thinking early on.[19]

The Demon-Haunted World has been defined in more current sources as still relevant. An article in The Guardian, 2012, suggests the still current relevance of The Demon-Haunted World.[20] Another article from The Verge in 2017 also supports this relevance.[21] The latter article mentions a disconnect between what is proven by science to be the best answer and what is chosen to be done by governmental bodies.[22] Carl Sagan covers this concept as a prominent issue in his book (1995), and this article outlines it as a problem still occurring in 2017.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  2. ^ Sagan, Carl (1997). The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark (Reprint ed.). Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345409461.
  3. ^ a b Palmer, Rob (31 March 2020). "Exploring 'Possible Worlds' With Ann Druyan". Skepticalinquirer.org. CFI. from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  4. ^ Sagan, Carl (March 1997). The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark (Paperback ed.). Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-40946-1.
  5. ^ Sagan, Carl (1995). The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark (Hardback ed.). Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-53512-8.
  6. ^ a b c Sagan, Carl (1997). The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark (Reprint ed.). Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345409461.
  7. ^ "Best Sellers". The New York Times. 16 June 1996. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  8. ^ Bernstein, Evan (November 9, 2015). "Happy Carl Sagan Day!". The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  9. ^ Novella, Steven (9 November 2009). "NeuroLogica Blog » Carl Sagan Day". New England Skeptical Society. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. ^ Meadon, Michael (8 October 2009). "Books IV". ionian-enchantment.blogspot.com. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  11. ^ Swiss, Jamy Ian (9 May 2013). "I, Skeptic". Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism. Retrieved 17 February 2017 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ a b Trachtman, Paul (May 1997). "Review of 'The Demon-Haunted World', 'Einstein, History, and Other Passions', 'The End of Science'". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 2009-09-27.
  13. ^ The New York Times, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/13/nnp/19395.html.
  14. ^ a b Lewontin, Richard C. "Billions and Billions of Demons." The New York Review of Books, 27 Aug. 2020, www.nybooks.com/articles/1997/01/09/billions-and-billions-of-demons/?lp_txn_id=997302.
  15. ^ "Book Review: Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan." Book Review: Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan | University of Phoenix Research Hub, research.phoenix.edu/news/book-review-demon-haunted-world-carl-sagan.
  16. ^ "Book Review / Non Fiction  : For This Scientist, the Truth Is Out There: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan; Random House $25, 452 Pages." Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 1996, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-18-ls-60022-story.html.
  17. ^ The New York Times, The New York Times, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/13/nnp/19395.html.
  18. ^ "Book Review: Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan." Book Review: Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan | University of Phoenix Research Hub, research.phoenix.edu/news/book-review-demon-haunted-world-carl-sagan.
  19. ^ a b "Book Review: Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan." Book Review: Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan | University of Phoenix Research Hub, research.phoenix.edu/news/book-review-demon-haunted-world-carl-sagan.
  20. ^ "The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan – Review | Tim Radford." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 July 2012, www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jul/20/demon-haunted-world-carl-sagan-review.
  21. ^ Savov, Vlad. "The World Needs Carl Sagan Now More than Ever." The Verge, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2017, www.theverge.com/2017/1/24/14368306/carl-sagan-science-prediction-trump-2017.
  22. ^ Savov, Vlad. "The World Needs Carl Sagan Now More than Ever." The Verge, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2017, www.theverge.com/2017/1/24/14368306/carl-sagan-science-prediction-trump-2017.

Further reading

  • Ayala, F. J. Ayala (July 26, 1996). "The Demon-Haunted World, reviewed". Science. Vol. 273, no. 5274. pp. 442–444. Bibcode:1996Sci...273..442S. doi:10.1126/science.273.5274.442.
  • Dembart, Lee (April 18, 1996). "Book Review / Non Fiction : For This Scientist, the Truth Is Out There : The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan". Los Angeles Times.
  • Gorman, James (April 7, 1996). "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". The New York Times.
  • Schult, Jeff (April 1996). "The Case for Science (Carl Sagan: The Demon-Haunted World – Science as a Candle in the Dark)". American Reporter.

January 31, 2023
demon, haunted, world, science, candle, dark, 1995, book, astrophysicist, carl, sagan, authored, druyan, which, authors, explain, scientific, method, laypeople, encourage, people, learn, critical, skeptical, thinking, they, explain, methods, help, distinguish,. The Demon Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark is a 1995 book by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan and co authored by Ann Druyan 1 in which the authors aim to explain the scientific method to laypeople and to encourage people to learn critical and skeptical thinking They explain methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science and those that can be considered pseudoscience Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking and should stand up to rigorous questioning The Demon Haunted World Science as a Candle in the DarkCover of the first editionAuthorCarl SaganCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSubjectsScientific skepticismSciencePhilosophyPublisherRandom HousePublication date1995 1997Media typePrint hardcover and paperback Pages457ISBN0 345 40946 9OCLC32855551Dewey Decimal001 9 20LC ClassQ175 S215 1995Preceded byPale Blue Dot Followed byBillions and Billions Contents 1 Themes 1 1 Dragon in my garage 1 2 Baloney detection kit 1 2 1 Logical fallacies 1 3 Misuse of science 1 3 1 Misuse of psychiatric authority 2 Reception and legacy 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingThemes EditSagan explains that science is not just a body of knowledge but is a way of thinking Sagan shows how scientific thinking is both imaginative and disciplined bringing humans to an understanding of how the universe is rather than how they wish to perceive it He says that science works much better than any other system because it has a built in error correcting machine 2 27 Superstition and pseudoscience get in the way of the ability of many laypersons to appreciate the beauty and benefits of science Skeptical thinking allows people to construct understand reason and recognize valid and invalid arguments Wherever possible there must be independent validation of the concepts whose truth should be proved He states that reason and logic would succeed once the truth were known Conclusions emerge from premises and the acceptability of the premises should not be discounted or accepted because of bias Dragon in my garage Edit See also Falsifiability As an example of skeptical thinking Sagan offers a story concerning a fire breathing dragon who lives in his garage When he persuades a rational open minded visitor to meet the dragon the visitor remarks that they are unable to see the creature Sagan replies that he neglected to mention that she s an invisible dragon The visitor suggests spreading flour on the floor so that the creature s footprints might be seen which Sagan says is a good idea but this dragon floats in the air When the visitor considers using an infrared camera to view the creature s invisible fire Sagan explains that her fire is heatless He continues to counter every proposed physical test with a reason why the test will not work Sagan concludes by asking Now what s the difference between an invisible incorporeal floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all If there s no way to disprove my contention no conceivable experiment that would count against it what does it mean to say that my dragon exists Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true Continuing with concepts relevant to the dragon in my garage story Sagan writes about a patient of John Mack who claimed to have scars on her body which were from encounters with aliens Sagan writes that if the patient is asked what her scars look like she is unable to show them because unfortunately they are located in the private areas of her body Baloney detection kit Edit Sagan presents a set of tools for skeptical thinking that he calls the baloney detection kit 3 4 210 5 Skeptical thinking consists both of constructing a reasoned argument and recognizing a fallacious or fraudulent one In order to identify a fallacious argument Sagan suggests employing such tools as independent confirmation of facts debate development of different hypotheses quantification the use of Occam s razor and the possibility of falsification Sagan s baloney detection kit also provides tools for detecting the most common fallacies of logic and rhetoric such as argument from authority and statistics of small numbers Through these tools Sagan argues the benefits of a critical mind and the self correcting nature of science can take place Sagan provides nine tools as the first part of this kit There must be independent confirmation of the facts given when possible Encourage debate on the evidence from all points of view Realize that an argument from authority is not always reliable Sagan supports this by telling us that authorities have made mistakes in the past and they will again in the future Consider more than one hypothesis Sagan adds to this by telling us that we must think of the argument from all angles and think all the ways it can be explained or disproved The hypothesis that then still hasn t been disproved has a much higher chance of being correct Try your best to not purely stick to a hypothesis that is your own and become biased Sagan tells us to compare our own hypothesis with others to see if we can find reasons to reject our own hypothesis Quantify Sagan tells us that if whatever we are trying to explain has numerical value or quantitative data related to it then we ll be much more able to compete against other hypotheses If there is a chain of argument every link in that chain must be correct The use of Occam s razor which tells us to choose the hypothesis that is simpler and requires the least amount of assumptions Ask if a given hypothesis can be falsified Sagan tells us that if a hypothesis cannot be tested or falsified then it is not worth considering Sagan suggests that with the use of this baloney detection kit it is easier to critically think and find the truth Logical fallacies Edit There is a second part to the kit that Sagan gives us This consists of twenty different logical fallacies that one must not commit when offering up a new claim Ad hominem An arguer attacks the opposing arguer and not the actual argument Argument from authority Someone expects another to immediately believe that a person of authority or higher knowledge is correct Argument from adverse consequences Someone says that something must be done a certain way or else there will be adverse consequences Appeal to ignorance One argues a claim in that whatever has not been proved false must be true and vice versa Special pleading An arguer responds to a deeply complex or rhetorical question or statement by usually saying oh you don t understand how so and so works Begging the question An arguer assumes the answer and makes a claim such as this happened because of that or this needs to happen in order for that to happen Observational selection Someone talks about how great something is by explaining all of the positive aspects of it while purposely not mentioning any of the negative aspects Statistics of small numbers Someone argues something by giving the statistics in small numbers which isn t very reliable Misunderstanding of the nature of statistics Someone misinterprets statistics given to them Fallacy of inconsistency An arguer is very inconsistent in their claims Non sequitur This is Latin for it doesn t follow A claim is made that doesn t make much sense such as Our nation will prevail because God is great Post hoc ergo propter hoc Latin for it happened after so it was caused by An arguer claims that something happened because of a past event when really it probably didn t Meaningless question Someone asks a question that has no real meaning or doesn t add to the argument at all The excluded middle An arguer only considers or mentions the two opposite extremes of the conversation and excludes the aspects in between the two extremes Short term vs long term A subset of the excluded middle but so important it was pulled it out for special attention Slippery slope related to excluded middle e g If we allow abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy it will be impossible to prevent the killing of a full term infant Or conversely If the state prohibits Confusion of correlation and causation The latter causes the former Straw man Caricaturing a position to make it easier to attack This is also a short term long term fallacy Suppressed evidence or half truth Weasel word Talleyrand said An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public Sagan provides a skeptical analysis of several examples of what he refers to as superstition fraud and pseudoscience such as witches UFOs ESP and faith healing He is critical of organized religion citation needed In a 2020 interview for Skeptical Inquirer when Sagan s wife Ann Druyan was asked about the origin of the phrase baloney detection kit she said that It didn t really come from Carl It actually came from a friend of mine named Arthur Felberbaum who died about forty years ago He and Carl and I once sat down for dinner together His politics were very left wing so Carl and Arthur and I were trying to find common ground so that we could have a really good dinner together And at one point Arthur said Carl it s just that I dream that every one of us would have a baloney detection kit in our head And that s where that idea came from 3 Misuse of science Edit Sagan indicates that science can be misused Thus he is highly critical of Edward Teller the father of the hydrogen bomb and Teller s influence on politics and contrasts his stance to that of Linus Pauling and other scientists who took moral positions citation needed Sagan also discusses the misuse of science in representation He relates to the depiction of the mad scientist character in children s TV shows and is critical of this occurrence Sagan suggests an addition of scientific television programs many of which would take a look at believed hoaxes of the past and encourage viewers to engage in critical thinking to better represent science on popular television Misuse of psychiatric authority Edit Sagan indicates that therapists can contribute to the growth of pseudoscience or the infusion of false stories He is critical of John Mack and his support of alien abduction cases which were represented in his patients Sagan writes about the story of Paul Ingram Ingram s daughter reported that her father had sexually abused her He was told that sex offenders often repressed memories of their crimes 6 Ingram was eventually able to have a foggy visualization of the claimed events and he suggested that perhaps a demon might be responsible 6 Sagan describes how once Ingram started remembering events so did several other individuals and family members A memory recovery technique was performed on Ingram and he confessed to the crimes A medical examination was done on his daughter where none of the scars she described were actually found Sagan writes that Ingram later tried to plead innocence once away from his daughters his police colleagues and his pastor 6 Reception and legacy EditThe book was a New York Times bestseller 7 The contemporary skeptical movement considers it an important book 8 9 10 11 The Demon Haunted World has been criticized in Smithsonian magazine and The New York Times for not incorporating certain information relevant to the items he discusses in his book The Smithsonian article by Paul Trachtman argues that Sagan relates issues of government choices and declining scientific thinking skills to pseudoscience topics like astrology and faith healing but ignores other issues that may be causing governmental bodies and other individuals to turn away from science One such issue is consequences of pouring governmental money into cancer research Trachtman writes it is not because of such beliefs that Congress now approaches the NIH budget with an ax In fact billions of dollars spent on years of research in the war on cancer have spawned growing professional bureaucracies and diminishing medical benefits 12 Trachtman argues that Sagan does not include problems like growing bureaucracies and diminishing medical benefits as reasons for a lack of scientific attention In his review for the New York Times James Gorman also argues for an unaddressed issue in Sagan s book saying Sagan fails to emphasize the idea that scientists should take a more active role in reaching science to the public while he does mention the failures of the education system to do so 13 The review in the Smithsonian magazine and a review in the New York Review of Books provide a range of opinions on Sagan s attitude towards religious ideas Per the New York Review article when it comes to the Supreme Extraterrestrial he is rather circumspect 14 A review from the University of Phoenix agrees that Sagan carefully approaches the concept of religion Readers should be aware that Sagan touches on sensitive areas in the cultural sphere such as religion and where it stands in science but handles the topics in such a way as to not offend 15 The Smithsonian article suggests Sagan was very clear about his religious beliefs in the book for he splits his universe in two into science and irrationality The Smithsonian goes on to say that Sagan s defined religious views fall within the area of an untestable claim a type of claim he argues against in The Demon Haunted World 12 The article in the New York Review also claims that Sagan includes something in The Demon Haunted World which he also is arguing against in that same text The article mentions how Sagan discusses a natural predisposition people have towards science but the article says He does not tell us how he used the scientific method to discover the embedded human proclivity for science 14 Sagan heavily discusses the importance of using the scientific method in his book and this article claims he strays away from his own message by not including a description of his use of the scientific method on this topic An article in the Los Angeles Times and the University of Phoenix review both describe Sagan s book positively The Los Angeles Times describes Sagan s book as a manifesto for clear thought with the main issue being the length of eight chapters 16 This lengthy discussion is also addressed in the archived New York Times article 17 as well as the University of Phoenix review which relates to the book as having areas which repeat themselves 18 The latter article agrees with the use of The Demon Haunted World as a text to provide tools for clearer thinking Sagan writes in an engaging style using dry wit and humor to get his point across regarding the need for everyone to practice aspects of scientific thinking in their daily lives 19 This article also discusses the ability of The Demon Haunted World to help beginner researchers and students learn about the importance of critical thinking early on 19 The Demon Haunted World has been defined in more current sources as still relevant An article in The Guardian 2012 suggests the still current relevance of The Demon Haunted World 20 Another article from The Verge in 2017 also supports this relevance 21 The latter article mentions a disconnect between what is proven by science to be the best answer and what is chosen to be done by governmental bodies 22 Carl Sagan covers this concept as a prominent issue in his book 1995 and this article outlines it as a problem still occurring in 2017 See also Edit Science portal Philosophy portal Books portalExtraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds 1841 book by Charles Mackay Junk science Scientific data research or analysis considered to be spurious or fraudulent Pathological science Research into why people are tricked into false results Rationalism Philosophical view regarding reason and knowledgeReferences Edit The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan PenguinRandomhouse com Retrieved 2021 06 09 Sagan Carl 1997 The Demon Haunted World Science As a Candle in the Dark Reprint ed Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0345409461 a b Palmer Rob 31 March 2020 Exploring Possible Worlds With Ann Druyan Skepticalinquirer org CFI Archived from the original on 1 April 2020 Retrieved 17 April 2020 Sagan Carl March 1997 The Demon Haunted World Science As a Candle in the Dark Paperback ed Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0 345 40946 1 Sagan Carl 1995 The Demon Haunted World Science As a Candle in the Dark Hardback ed Random House ISBN 978 0 394 53512 8 a b c Sagan Carl 1997 The Demon Haunted World Science As a Candle in the Dark Reprint ed Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0345409461 Best Sellers The New York Times 16 June 1996 Retrieved 17 February 2017 Bernstein Evan November 9 2015 Happy Carl Sagan Day The Skeptics Guide to the Universe Retrieved 17 February 2017 Novella Steven 9 November 2009 NeuroLogica Blog Carl Sagan Day New England Skeptical Society Retrieved 17 February 2017 Meadon Michael 8 October 2009 Books IV ionian enchantment blogspot com Retrieved 17 February 2017 Swiss Jamy Ian 9 May 2013 I Skeptic Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism Retrieved 17 February 2017 via YouTube a b Trachtman Paul May 1997 Review of The Demon Haunted World Einstein History and Other Passions The End of Science Smithsonian Archived from the original on 2009 09 27 The New York Times archive nytimes com www nytimes com books 97 04 13 nnp 19395 html a b Lewontin Richard C Billions and Billions of Demons The New York Review of Books 27 Aug 2020 www nybooks com articles 1997 01 09 billions and billions of demons lp txn id 997302 Book Review Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan Book Review Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan University of Phoenix Research Hub research phoenix edu news book review demon haunted world carl sagan Book Review Non Fiction For This Scientist the Truth Is Out There The Demon Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan Random House 25 452 Pages Los Angeles Times 18 Apr 1996 www latimes com archives la xpm 1996 04 18 ls 60022 story html The New York Times The New York Times archive nytimes com www nytimes com books 97 04 13 nnp 19395 html Book Review Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan Book Review Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan University of Phoenix Research Hub research phoenix edu news book review demon haunted world carl sagan a b Book Review Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan Book Review Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan University of Phoenix Research Hub research phoenix edu news book review demon haunted world carl sagan The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan Review Tim Radford The Guardian Guardian News and Media 20 July 2012 www theguardian com science 2012 jul 20 demon haunted world carl sagan review Savov Vlad The World Needs Carl Sagan Now More than Ever The Verge The Verge 24 Jan 2017 www theverge com 2017 1 24 14368306 carl sagan science prediction trump 2017 Savov Vlad The World Needs Carl Sagan Now More than Ever The Verge The Verge 24 Jan 2017 www theverge com 2017 1 24 14368306 carl sagan science prediction trump 2017 Further reading EditAyala F J Ayala July 26 1996 The Demon Haunted World reviewed Science Vol 273 no 5274 pp 442 444 Bibcode 1996Sci 273 442S doi 10 1126 science 273 5274 442 Dembart Lee April 18 1996 Book Review Non Fiction For This Scientist the Truth Is Out There The Demon Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan Los Angeles Times Gorman James April 7 1996 Invasion of the Body Snatchers The New York Times Schult Jeff April 1996 The Case for Science Carl Sagan The Demon Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark American Reporter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Demon Haunted World amp oldid 1131210970, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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