Carl Edward Sagan Quotes (35 Quotes)


    Science is not only compatible with spirituality it is a profound source of spirituality.


    The wind whips through the canyons of the American Southwest, and there is no one to hear it but us - a reminder of the 40,000 generations of thinking men and women who preceded us, about whom we know almost nothing, upon whom our civilization is based.

    For most of human history we have searched for our place in the cosmos. Who are we What are we We find that we inhabit an insignificant planet of a hum-drum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are

    My deeply held belief is that if a god of anything like the traditional sort exists, our curiosity and intelligence is provided by such a God. We would be unappreciative of that gift ... if we suppressed our passion to explore the universe and ourselves.


    A central lesson of science is that to understand complex issues (or even simple ones), we must try to free our minds of dogma and to guarantee the freedom to publish, to contradict, and to experiment. Arguments from authority are unacceptable.

    In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.

    I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.

    I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudo-science and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive.

    The fact that someone says something, doesn't mean it's true. Doesn't mean they're lying, but it doesn't mean it's true.

    I also wish that the Pledge of Allegiance were directed at the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as it is when the President takes his oath of office, rather than to the flag and the nation

    That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

    In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument my position is mistaken', and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen.

    Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used

    There is today-in a time when old beliefs are withering-a kind of philosophical hunger, a need to know who we are and how we got here. It is an on-going search, often unconscious, for a cosmic perspective for humanity.

    Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.

    Are we an exceptionally unlikely accident or is the universe brimming over with intelligence (It's) a vital question for understanding ourselves and our history,

    You can't convince a believer of anything for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe.

    The significance of a finding that there are other beings who share this universe with us would be absolutely phenomenal, it would be an epochal event in human history,

    Who are we Where do we come from Why are we this way and not some other What does it mean to be human Are we capable, if need be, of fundamental change, or do the dead hands of forgotten ancestors impel us in some direction, indiscriminately for good or ill, and beyond our control Can we alter our character Can we improve our societies Can we leave our children a world better than the one that was left to us Can we free them from the demons that torment us and haunt our civilization In the long run, are we wise enough to know what changes to make Can we be trusted with our own future.

    Think of how many religions attempt to validate themselves with prophecy. Think of how many people rely on these prophecies, however vague, however unfulfilled, to support or prop up their beliefs. Yet has there ever been a religion with the prophetic accuracy and reliability of science.

    In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams

    For the first time, we have the power to decide the fate of our planet and ourselves, ... This is a time of great danger, but our species is young, and curious, and brave. It shows much promise.

    The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting. The ocean calls. So

    There are many hypotheses in science which are wrong. That's perfectly all right they're the aperture to finding out what's right. Science is a self-correcting process. To be accepted, new ideas must survive the most rigorous standards of evidence and scrutiny.

    Discussing the possibilities of extraterrestrial life I would love it even if they were short, sullen, grumpy and sexually obsessed. But there just isn't any good evidence.

    What's the harm of a little mystification It sure beats boring statistical analyses.

    We have swept through all of the planets in the solar system, from Mercury to Neptune, in a historic 20 (to) 30 year age of spacecraft discovery,

    Each of us is a tiny being, permitted to ride on the outermost skin of one of the smaller planets for a few dozen trips around the local star.

    ... the use of our intelligence quite properly gives us pleasure. In this respect the brain is like a muscle. When we think well, we feel good. Understanding is a kind of ecstasy.

    Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history.

    We are prodding, challenging, seeking contradictions or small, persistent residual errors, proposing alternative explanations, encouraging heresy. We give our highest rewards to those who convincingly disprove established beliefs.

    The Universe forces those who live in it to understand it. Those creatures who find everyday experience a muddled jumble of events with no predictability, no regularity, are in grave peril. The Universe belongs to those who, at least to some degree,

    When Kepler found his long-cherished belief did not agree with the most precise observation, he accepted the uncomfortable fact. He preferred the hard truth to his dearest illusions that is the heart of science.

    The well-meaning contention that all ideas have equal merit seems to me little different from the disastrous contention that no ideas have any merit.


    More Carl Edward Sagan Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Science - Astronomy & Cosmology - History - Society & Civilization - Religions & Spirituality - Time - Spring - Intelligence - Belief & Faith - Medicine & Medical - America - Thought & Thinking - Facts - Liberty & Freedom - Discussion - Cowardice - Judgment - Present - Confidence - View All Carl Edward Sagan Quotations

    Related Authors


    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Authors (by First Name)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Other Inspiring Sections