We are, in the most profound sense, children of the Cosmos. Carl Sagan More Quotes by Carl Sagan More Quotes From Carl Sagan For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love. Carl Sagan inspirational love life What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is in a way a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behavior patterns of lizards and baboons: territoriality and aggression and dominance hierarchies. We are each of us largely responsible for what gets put in to our brains. For what as adults we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain we can change ourselves. Think of the possibilities. Carl Sagan caring wind thinking All of us cherish our beliefs. They are, to a degree, self-defining. When someone comes along who challenges our belief system as insufficiently well-based - or who, like Socrates, merely asks embarrassing questions that we haven't thought of, or demonstrates that we've swept key underlying assumptions under the rug - it becomes much more than a search for knowledge. It feels like a personal assault. Carl Sagan embarrassing-questions keys love When you realize that no one really knows what they are doing and that everyone is doing the best they can according to their own level of consciousness, life gets a lot easier. Carl Sagan deep-thought levels mean The lifetime of a human being is measured by decades, the lifetime of the Sun is a hundred million times longer. Compared to a star, we are like mayflies, fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their lives in the course of a single day. Carl Sagan fleeting ephemeral stars But, Jefferson worried that the people - and the argument goes back to Thucydides and Aristotle - are easily misled. He also stressed, passionately and repeatedly, that it was essential for the people to understand the risks and benefits of government, to educate themselves, and to involve themselves in the political process. Without that, he said, the wolves will take over. Carl Sagan political government people At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes-an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense. Carl Sagan heart attitude science The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent. Carl Sagan benign existentialism cosmos She had studied the universe all her life, but had overlooked its clearest message: For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love. Carl Sagan small-creatures vastness messages Not all birds can fly. What separates the flyers from the walkers is the ability to take off. Carl Sagan flyers aviation bird 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 as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. Carl Sagan learning humility change We live on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam Carl Sagan suspended sunbeams dust One of the greatest gifts adults can give - to their offspring and to their society - is to read to children. Carl Sagan education giving children If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power work for us. In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the enveloping darkness. Carl Sagan teaching country children Once we overcome our fear of being tiny, we find ourselves on the threshold of a vast and awesome Universe that utterly dwarfs — in time, in space, and in potential — the tidy anthropocentric proscenium of our ancestors. Carl Sagan tiny space overcoming All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct. Carl Sagan civilization science In many cultures it is customary to answer that God created the universe out of nothing. But this is mere temporizing. If we wish courageously to pursue the question, we must, of course ask next where God comes from? And if we decide this to be unanswerable, why not save a step and conclude that the universe has always existed? Carl Sagan atheist wish religion The very act of understanding is a celebration of joining, merging, even if on a very modest scale, with the magnificence of the Cosmos. Carl Sagan joining cosmos understanding Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of confusion and bamboozle requires intelligence, vigilance, dedication, and courage. But if we don't practice these tough habits of thought, we cannot hope to solve the truly serious problems that face us --- and we risk becoming a nation of suckers, up for grabs by the next charlatan who comes along. Carl Sagan dedication ocean atheist Human beings have a demonstrated talent for self-deception when their emotions are stirred. Carl Sagan vastness deception self
