A really good article (finally) in the NYTimes about religion ... by Dennis Overbye. It’s about the most recent book by Carl Sagan: [i:8bece4e45b]Varieties of Scientific Experience[/i:8bece4e45b].
[b:8bece4e45b]A Familiar and Prescient Voice, Brought to Life[/b:8bece4e45b]. (May require login or be paid after awhile).
Short excerpts:
[quote:8bece4e45b=“NYTimes”]Now, however, Dr. Sagan has rejoined the cosmic debate from the grave. The occasion is the publication last month of ÏThe Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for GodÓ (Penguin). The book is based on a series of lectures exploring the boundary between science and religion that Dr. Sagan gave in Glasgow in 1985, and it was edited by Ann Druyan, his widow and collaborator.
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ÏI would suggest that science is, at least in part, informed worship,Ó he writes at the beginning of a discussion that includes the history of cosmology, a travel guide to the solar system, the reason there are hallucinogen receptors in the brain, and the meaning of the potential discovery Û or lack thereof Û of extraterrestrial intelligence.
<snip>
In the wake of Sept. 11 and the attacks on the teaching of evolution in this country, she said, a tacit truce between science and religion that has existed since the time of Galileo started breaking down. ÏA lot of scientists were mad as hell, and they werenÌt going to take it anymore,Ó Ms. Druyan said over lunch recently.
Some of the books that resulted, such as Richard DawkinsÌs ÏThe God Delusion,Ó have been criticized as shrill, but Ms. Druyan said: ÏPeople like Carl and Dawkins are more serious about God than people who just go through the motions. They are real seekers.Ó[/quote:8bece4e45b]
