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Loading... The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God (edition 2007)by Carl Sagan (Author)
Work InformationThe Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God by Carl Sagan
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. "There are gods in everything" ( ) Incredible, insightful, mind expanding, and glad I read this one! There are so many thoughts that Sagan posits. Is there life on other planets? Is there a connection between a God/Being who made this universe? Are science and religion connected? These are but a few of what I took away from reading this excellent book. These erudite and accessible lectures open a comprehensive field, not only of the impacts of personal religious beliefs on our actions, but on the flowering of humanity. One of the author's leadoffs is Percival Lowell and the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff - when Carl Sagan last visited and offered a lecture to Astronomers and Students, I was so lucky to be in the audience, a 4th grade Astronomy teacher from Wisconsin. To add to the wonder, in this book, PLUTO was still a Planet, with no controversy proposed. A beautiful illustration of Carl Sagan's lifelong quest to promote a spiritual skepticism. Sagan debunks canals on Mars in one chapter, and endorses theologian Paul Tillich in another, and introduces the book with a chapter describing his awe at the universe, using NASA photographs as 20th Century icons to ponder and commune with. While he does an excellent job dismissing several arguments against evolutionary theory, his goal isn't to dismantle traditional religion; rather it's to share his vision of humanity as one with the stars. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesGifford Lectures (1985)
Sagan sets down his detailed thoughts on the relationship between religion and science and describes his personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos. In 1985, Sagan was invited to give the famous Gifford Lectures in Scotland on the grand occasion of the lectureship's centennial. The result is this delightfully intimate discussion of his views on topics ranging from the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets to the danger of nuclear annihilation of our own, on creationism and so-called intelligent design to a new concept of science as "informed worship" to manic depression and the possible chemical nature of transcendence. In his trademark clear and down-to-earth voice, the late astronomer and astrophysicist illuminates his conversation with examples from cosmology, physics, philosophy, literature, psychology, cultural anthropology, mythology, theology, and more.--From publisher description. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)215Religions Natural Theology and Secularism Religion and ScienceLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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