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Josh Weinstein

Book Review 1

February 2nd, 2010

Dr. Eisenhour: Hist. 386

A Review of the Book The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Written by Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan is probably best known for his awarding-winning public television series Cosmos. In

that show, Sagan attempted to explain the intricacies and nuances of astronomy and physics in humble,

down to earth (pun intended) language while stressing the significance of science and scientific thinking

in a modern culture. In his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Sagan

continues that tradition and exhibits a mastery of unpretentious, yet compelling, sound, and fascinating

argumentation. His thesis calls upon the citizens of earth to sharpen their skepticism, and within that

posit he weaves the history of modern science as a truth-inducer and error-correcting mechanism

throughout civilization. Sagan maintains an understanding, cordial, and self-effacing tone, which lends to

the credibility of its contents.

The book sets out to educate, stimulate, and inspire the reader to approach life with a

scientifically skeptical mind. Pseudoscience in all its forms is a pet peeve of Sagan’s (understandably so,

being a world-renowned scientist), who devotes the first half-dozen chapters to debunking and

explaining the tenets of modern mythologies and hoaxes. Sagan begins with the legends of a discernable

“stone face” on Mars (which would imply alien life), and the explicit notion of extra-terrestrials visiting
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and abducting humans from Earth. Both theories are prevalent in popular cultures worldwide, but

appear to be originated and mainly propagated by the West. Sagan’s beautiful logic and compassionate

narrative succinctly discredits alien abduction theory. Sagan highlights the fallibility of “human

perceptual and cognitive imperfections”, as well as the misleading psychoanalytic techniques used by

psychologists on “alien abductees” in discrediting these myths. Sagan goes on to explain how on

occasion, he hears the faint whispers of his dead parents. He knows they are dead, but he points out

that part of him must miss his parents so badly that his subconscious was compelled to manifest that

longing into his consciousness; basically, his brain created a hallucination. Still, Sagan knows their voices

are not there; he knows they are imaginary realities of his own cognition. He uses himself as an example

of human fallibility and cognitive ambiguity, which he contends are the basis for many supernatural

events and religious visions (such as the Virgin Mary appearing in a grilled cheese sandwich).

Sagan uses the example of canals, rockets, highways and other manmade constructs being

“discovered” on the Martian surface in the 1960’s. These spurious claims turned out to be the result of

internal camera malfunctions, shadows on Mars appearing as rockets, or just plain imaginations of the

hopeful. When the complex human mind is coupled with emotional or physical peculiarities, individuals

are sometimes left with false visions or distorted memories. Comparably, Sagan argues, when the

complex terrain of Mars is coupled with the emotional peculiarities of overzealous, hopeful humans and

the physical limitations of our technology, we are left with a dulled skepticism which often produces

falsities. Sagan drives this point home repeatedly, laying bare the notion of life on Mars...

After Sagan analyzes, dissects, and discredits New Age medicine, levitation, aliens, and psychic

healing, he begins to lay out the tools of scientific skepticism and explains its significance throughout

history. Chapter 12 is titled “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection”. In this section, Sagan presents the

process of self-correction and error-reducing techniques that are inherent to the scientific method, and
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stresses that this approach not be confined only to the realms of science. Rather, Sagan asks the reader

to apply skepticism wherever it is needed; when politicians are asking of you a sacrifice, when salesmen

are selling you new snake oils, or when demagogues are spouting unchecked rhetoric over the airwaves.

Sagan refers to the similarities between democracy and science, the most significant being that both

have checks on unscrupulous members. Democracies throughout the globe are less likely to fall prey to

famine, persecution, and warfare, and are more likely to be educated and healthy. Sagan asks why this is,

and then answers his own question (as he does often in the book); because democracies have error-

correcting machinery built into their systems, they do not allow individuals, products, or ideas that are

dishonest or harmful to continue operating within the system (for the most part). In drawing this

parallel, Sagan fine-tunes the concept of science in a patriotic tone which continues into the final

chapters of Demon Haunted World.

Sagan’s wife, Ann Druyan, contributes to the last chapters of the book (since I am unaware who

wrote which sentences in these chapters and because only Carl Sagan’s name appears on the cover, I will

continue referring only to Sagan as the author). In those pages, the focus switches to concentrate more

on the political controversies and bureaucratic opposition towards science that Sagan believes is

undermining American ideals. Citing Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin as both being avid

scientists and inventors, Sagan conveys the scientific basis of America and pleads for the ear of

governmental leaders to grease the wheels of science. He stresses the importance of science in high

school and laments the lack of quality scientific programming on television. He anticipates and answers

the very questions which opponents to his scientific worldview might ask. Understanding the opinion of

many who believe that science is a fallible, cold, dehumanizing experimental process, Sagan reminds the

reader that America as a country, its foreign policy, drug laws, and interest rates are all experiments. No

one quite knows the outcome, but advisors tend to brief an executive on their hypotheses. In all of these

cases, Sagan points out that there is no adequate control experiment to aid in furthering our
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understanding of policy and its effects. Thus, Sagan makes a call to our politicians to not only increase

government funding of science, but also to use the scientific method in their own bureaucratic decisions

on governance.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark was a fascinating trip. Though 434

pages long, the book reads well and keeps the reader fixed. If there is one aspect of this work that can be

considered emblematic of the whole, it would be Sagan’s obsession with truth. His passion for reality

and its nature are apparent in his critical meander through history, his constant questioning, and his

compassion and understanding of the human condition, particularly with people of faith. Some

prominent scientists such as Richard Dawkins (who coincidentally wrote a review on the inside cover of

Sagan’s book) treat religion and its followers as evil and mentally ill, condescending to those who

disagree with him while leaving no possibility for error in his own principles. People like Mr. Dawkins

alienate a large segment of the population, and it is that segment of people who are most likely to

consider scientific education or science in general as an invalid path to truth, thus perpetuating the

“demon-haunted world”.

Sagan argues that it is precisely these people who need science most, and adjusts his attitude

accordingly. Carl Sagan takes the opposite approach of men like Richard Dawkins or Christopher

Hitchens, and maintains a cordial and sympathetic tone throughout. Though he frequently criticizes

points of view, he never makes value judgments or condemns any individual moral condition, nor does

he view the idea of “God” as some unsavory remnant of childhood. His forward-thinking style anticipates

the opposition, as he asks challenging questions of himself before others have the chance. He admits the

faults of science and of humans and never comes off as elitist or pretentious. Most importantly, the

connection he builds between scientific skepticism, country, and patriotism truly summarizes not only

this book, but Carl Sagan himself.