The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan - Essay Example

Running Head: ANGELS Angels In the book The Demon-Haunted World, the Carl Sagan has encouraged readers to open their minds to science and scientific evidence so that they do not get swayed by claims made by self-acclaimed pseudoscience experts. Sagan has stated that religion’s claim of angel’s existence as messenger of God is merely a ploy to push mankind towards its destruction. This paper attempts to explore the fact that such creatures are myths, and how the author has used reasoning to eliminate delusions caused by false beliefs. Sagan has stated that although it is perfectly fine what any individual wants to believe, it is however wrong to impose one’s acceptance of truth on others. Introduction This 1995 non-fiction book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark written by Carl Sagan is about imaginary things like angels, demons, UFOs, alien abductions, witches, the Loch Ness monster, evil eye, Bermuda triangle, ghosts, fire-breathing dragons and so on. Pseudoscience is all about believing in things and phenomenon that are apparently impossible or in other words there is no proof regarding their validation. The author Sagan too advocates the belief that there may be life in other planets, among other things. However, there is no scientific proof yet of extraterrestrial life. This paper focuses on Sagan’s attempt to convince readers to tread the path of science before believing any information provided by pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is an integral element of popular culture that acts as a direct challenge to scientific knowledge. It is however true that many science graduates indulge in pseudoscience which means holding academic degrees in science does not make an individual averse towards the appeal of pseudoscience. It exerts a calming effect on people, as it provides them with the tool they need to grasp the meaning of their lives since their search of life’s truth goes beyond the realm of scientific evidence (Vlaardingerbroek, 2011, p.21). Pseudoscience can be defined as “belief or practice that pretends to be scientific but lacks supporting evidence” (Matute, et al., 2011, p.393). In the culture of school science, experiments are allowed to reinforce existing theories, and are strongly against experiments to prove authenticity of pseudoscientific claims (Vlaardingerbroek, 2011, p.25). Pseudoscience and superstitions can be considered as grave problems that can threaten public health. According to psychologists, such illusionary beliefs are created when people tend to create relation between cause and effect. The root of pseudoscience emerges from “systematic cognitive illusions that occur in most people when exposed to certain situations (Matute, et al., 2011, p.392). History of angels Sagan has stated that according to theologists, angels are disguised forms of God’s messengers who create a bridge between God and man. However, according to Sagan such claims have no scientific evidence, and they are merely a manner to push mankind towards their destruction. The church has stated that everything that exists is created by God and there are some things that he created for His own advantage. These are spirits, and angels were known to be the purest of all spirits. The existence of spirits is still believed since the entire universe has been created because spirits are there without which creation would have been incomplete. On the other hand, there has been no reason for man to believe that angels are the cause of creation, and the existence of angels has only been noted in God’s scriptures. The lack of belief is because angels have no scientific base. Since angels do not have any physical form, therefore science can neither prove nor disprove the existence of angels, therefore their existence (if any) remains beyond the realms of science that man has developed so far (Sheed, 1993, Ch.12). Therefore, historically every experience that has been attached with angels could have been due to anything else, as “belief in angels, angel sightings and angel experiences is entirely a matter of faith” (Stewart, 2010, p.40). For many people, the existence of guardian angels is a kind of emotional comfort. People find strength to cope with their life’s problems as they feel that guardian angels whisper to them about all the good things in life even during moments when everything seems to fall apart. This kind of belief guides a person to focus on the good things in life and helps them to shift their attention from existing difficulties. Since the belief in angels can make things easier for people to handle, therefore there is strong tendency to avoid introspecting whether they exist in reality or not (Byrne, 2012). There are however certain Christians who although believe in God do not generally believe in angels. The major reason behind this is that people have become more materialistic, especially since the era of Enlightenment, and they have developed the tendency to separate the spiritual and the material (Miller, 2012). Angels do not exist Likewise, in biological perspective mythical creatures like angels, dragons, centaurs, mermaids and so on could never have existed. This is because such species, as mentioned in stories and anecdotes, are completely different from species that have actually existed and still exist. Today, modern theologians enforce that angels have no existence and they cannot exist in physical form. Previously, theologists claimed that angels existed even before the creation of the world. Such claims also asserted the concept of a unique angelic nature since angels lived before any material creatures came into being, and therefore angelic nature was not emulation of anything that exists in the real world. However, the fact that before the creation of any visible creature there could not have been any place where angels could exist is contradiction of the ancient theologists’ theories. According to Aristotle, place is just an extension of surrounding areas of any material creatures or substances. Therefore, before the real world was created there could not have been any place where angels could exist (Aquinas, 2012, p.98). Hence, the belief in angels is merely a matter of faith. It is believed that animals create a bridge between plants and men while plants create a bridge between animals and minerals. Similarly, it is believed that angels are messengers from God for men. Although these traditional beliefs have no proof they are nevertheless considered as reasonable arguments. Therefore, belief in angels is simply a matter of faith as it is “much more unreasonable not to believe in angels than to believe in them” (Kreeft, 1995, p.36). People tend to discard those things that they cannot imagine, and angels which are considered as purest forms of spirit are discarded because people cannot see or imagine spirits (Kreeft, 1995, p.39). Through his book, Carl Sagan encourages the reader to logically analyze all truths claimed by supposed experts. He has instructed readers to hold more skeptic view of all information. In the early part of the book Sagan has stated that it is important that all Americans become scientifically literate. Only by applying scientific deductions along with certain amount of reasons and common sense, a person can prevent so called pseudoscience experts from taking advantage of his or her apparent fallibility. Making intelligent queries, scrutinizing all kinds of information and those who suggest them can prove to be an invaluable tool. Carl Sagan, in his book has explained how mythical beliefs have evolved to become assumed truths, and how an apparently impossible concept can sustain to transform into common knowledge. According to Sagan, it is perfectly fine what any individual wants to believe if that belief provides him comfort, but it is absolutely wrong to impose one’s perspective of truth on others. Conclusion When studying the history of thought, it can be observed that people have always been inclined towards absurd beliefs. Carl Sagan has encouraged his readers to travel the scientific journey in order to assess any information before believing them. The existence of angels cannot be proven scientifically and hence any claims about them being seen should not be construed as absolute truth. This book serves the purpose of making readers open their minds to science. Sagan has used scientific logic to expose the face of fallacy leading to delusions, and he has stated that science does not agree to the existence of any kind of angels as they cannot be proved by any physical existence. References Aquinas, T. (2012). The Power of God. Oxford Univ. Press Byrne, L. (2012). Don’t Believe in Angels? Suspend Your Disbelief for a Day, Huffington Post, retrieved on June 20, 2014 from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lorna-byrne/dont-believe-in-angels-suspend-your-disbelief-for-a-day_b_1832369.html Kreeft, P. (1995). Angels and Demons: What do we really know about them? Ignatius Press Matute, H., Yarritu, I. & Vadillo, M.A. (2011). Illusions of causality at the heart of pseudoscience. British Journal of Psychology, 102(3), 392-405 Miller, J. (2012). Do you believe in Angels? Fox News, retrieved on June 20, 2014 from: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/10/21/do-believe-in-angels/ Sheed, Francis J. (1993). Theology and Sanity. Ignatius Press Stewart, Dorothy E. (2010). A Promise Fulfilled in a Dark Moment. Xlibris Corporation Vlaardingerbroek, B. (2011) Flogging a dead horse: pseudoscience and school science education. Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association, 57(4), 21-25 Read More