Book Review: The Demon-Haunted World

I have forever been torn between the rigors of reason and the undeniable reality of the spirit world. This tension though does not stop me from being a level-headed skeptic AND a firm believer. There are things in the world that can be easily confirmed (at least to a reasonable level of certainty) and there are other things that little evidence and argument can touch. We as a society seem to have lost touch with that distinction. Only the most credulous observers would find the dogmatic defense of such things as alien abduction, Nostradamus' and Casey's prophecies, vampires as the cause of malaria, Bigfoot and the vast majority of faith healings. While my worldview certainly allows for the possibility (even probability) of such things, I find it very difficult to accept most of the "arguments" put forth by those who do believe.

So, after over a three years of waiting patiently, I finally decided to read The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. This is a great book and I would certainly recommend it to anyone wishing a brief introduction to critical thinking, logic and the world of pseudoscience. The chapters entitled "The Dragon in my Garage" and "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection" are often cited and are very good overviews of how science and logic work in the real world. Much of the book seems repetitive and probably could have benefited by being cut down by at least half though. I've heard that the chapters are actually stand-alone essays, and it certainly feels that way. Overlooking the lack of editorial review, this is a fine book.

The book definitely has some great food-for-thought. For me, I am constantly annoyed at the amount of sloppy thinking, charlatanism, propaganda and pure, unadulterated bull shit in American culture. We see in almost everywhere from new theories of about the "power" of crystals to the ongoing war over Global Warming. We are especially bombarded with it on T.V. news, where science news in particular has been tragically dumbed down to meet the needs of the sub-average grade-school student as to not make anyone feel like perhaps they don't know everything. (Besides, we just HAVE to spend time talking about poor Britney Spears, right?) Truly useful and accurate health, biology, technology and ecological information is traded in for the latest Mother-Mary-in-a-pancake and alcohol-is-good-for-you stories.

Now, for a believing Christian like myself, I have difficulty sometimes knowing what the limits of science are and where I am allowed by reason to believe in God, Jesus, immortality, heaven and hell. When am I justified, logically speaking, to believe in Jesus' Resurrection? Is there really a separation between what I can know scientifically and what can be known "spiritually"? The standard I use is one I think Sagan would approve of (probably with some qualification on his part though) is one of subjectivity: is there some outward and examinable evidence that something is true? Where as in the New Age there's no objective truth. Rather, in the New Thought community we

make our own truth. There's no such thing as objective reality. We make our own reality. There are spiritual, mystical, or inner ways of knowing that are superior to our ordinary ways of knowing. If an experience seems real, it is real. If an idea feels right to you, it is right. We are incapable of acquiring knowledge of the true nature of reality. Science itself is irrational or mystical. It's just another faith or belief system or myth, with no more justification than any other. It doesn't matter whether beliefs are true or not, as long as they're meaningful to you.

Which is poppycock and potentially dangerous. Meaningfulness does not necessarily correlate to reality. What this fellow is talking about here is art, not science and has very little metaphysical basis for support. Art is meaningful only because it is interpreted to be meaningful. How strongly you feel something does not make it true (with the odd exception to the placebo effect). So, even if I felt strongly that Jesus was Lord and Savior, that does not mean that He really is. Something besides my feeling must support this reality and it does to my satisfaction. On the other hand, skepticism remains an important part of my life and The Demon-Haunted World will remain an important tool for apprehending and living in the real world.