I Love Words of Wisdom
“Consider again the pale blue dot we’ve been talking about. Imagine that you take a good long look at it. Imagine you’re staring at the dot for any length of time. And then try to convince yourself that god created the whole universe for one of ten million or so species of life that inhabit that speck of dust.
Now take it a step further. Imagine that everything was made for a single shade of that species, or gender, or ethnic group, or religious sub-division. We can recognize here a shortcoming, in some circumstances serious, in our ability to understand the world.
Characteristically, we seem compelled to project our own nature onto nature. ‘Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy of the interposition of a deity.’ Darwin wrote telegraphically in his notebook. ‘More humble and I think truer to consider created from animals.’ Close quote.
We’re Johnny-come-lately’s, we live in the cosmic boondocks, we emerged from microbes and muck. Apes are our cousins, our thoughts and our feelings are not fully under our control. And on to top of all this, we’re making a mess of our planet and becoming a danger to ourselves.
The trap door is open beneath our feet swings open. We find ourselves in bottomless free-fall. If it takes a little myth and ritual to get us through a night that seems endless, who among us cannot sympathize and understand.
We long to be here for a purpose. Even though, despite much self-deception, none is evident. The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life’s meaning. We long for a parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes.
But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth then a reassuring fable. Modern science has been a voyage into the unknown with a lesson in humility waiting at every stop. Our common sense intuitions can be mistaken.
Our preferences don’t count. We do not live is a privileged reference frame. If we crave some common purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.”
Carl Sagan
Now take it a step further. Imagine that everything was made for a single shade of that species, or gender, or ethnic group, or religious sub-division. We can recognize here a shortcoming, in some circumstances serious, in our ability to understand the world.
Characteristically, we seem compelled to project our own nature onto nature. ‘Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy of the interposition of a deity.’ Darwin wrote telegraphically in his notebook. ‘More humble and I think truer to consider created from animals.’ Close quote.
We’re Johnny-come-lately’s, we live in the cosmic boondocks, we emerged from microbes and muck. Apes are our cousins, our thoughts and our feelings are not fully under our control. And on to top of all this, we’re making a mess of our planet and becoming a danger to ourselves.
The trap door is open beneath our feet swings open. We find ourselves in bottomless free-fall. If it takes a little myth and ritual to get us through a night that seems endless, who among us cannot sympathize and understand.
We long to be here for a purpose. Even though, despite much self-deception, none is evident. The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined by our own wisdom and courage. We are the custodians of life’s meaning. We long for a parent to care for us, to forgive us our errors, to save us from our childish mistakes.
But knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Better by far to embrace the hard truth then a reassuring fable. Modern science has been a voyage into the unknown with a lesson in humility waiting at every stop. Our common sense intuitions can be mistaken.
Our preferences don’t count. We do not live is a privileged reference frame. If we crave some common purpose, then let us find ourselves a worthy goal.”
Carl Sagan
41-45, M
