The Demon-Haunted World
Science as a
Candle in the Dark
[review] [endlinks] [excerpt] [purchase]

by Carl Sagan
Ballantine Books, 1997
Suggested price: $14.00

Reviewed by Matthew Cockerill

Carl Sagan's death on December 20, 1996, was a great loss for science. The Demon Haunted World, now out in paperback, was perhaps the culmination of his lifetime love affair with science, and it will contribute to the public understanding of science long after his death.

In The Demon Haunted World, Sagan addresses head-on the reasons why so many people are happier to believe the self-assured nonsense of New Agers, pseudo-scientists and alien-conspiracy theorists, rather than to think rationally about a problem for themselves.

The book's style is measured and witty but it builds its argument with relentless force. Sagan takes the time to examine the causes, origins, and historical antecedents of the New Age, paranormal, and occultist antiscientific movements that appear to be undergoing a frightening and almost unstoppable surge in popularity. The parallel he draws between present-day tales of alien abductions and the seventeenth century's obsession with witches and demonic possession is truly chilling.

Although it has drawn a certain amount of criticism for its uncompromising stance, from a scientist's perspective The Demon Haunted World comes across as an admirably restrained, clearly thought out, yet impassioned work. It is also, however, undeniably political. Summoning up the spirits of the great heroes of the American revolution, Sagan makes the case that the ability to think scientifically is a fundamental necessity for participation in any democratic society. "Science," he writes, "is far from a perfect instrument of knowledge. It's just the best we have. In this respect, as in many others, it's like democracy."

Sagan categorically rejects the accusation that in asserting the primacy of scientific thinking he is replacing one idol with another. Science, he argues, is fundamentally different because it welcomes criticism and the opportunity to be proven wrong. On the other hand, pseudo-science typically claims to know all the answers, and doesn't take kindly to having its authority questioned.

This is a wonderfully readable book, enlivened throughout by Sagan's sardonic humor. High points include his description of the "Carlos Affair," in which the magician James Randi and an accomplice manage to hoodwink the Australian media into taking at face value their trumped-up story of a "world-famous" faith-healer and channeler. If you have ever been exasperated with the incoherent inanities of contemporary New Ageism, you will frequently laugh out loud with recognition as Sagan addresses his next target, whether it is alien abductions, faith healing, horoscopes, or crop circles. But he never loses sight of the fact that these phenomena should not simply be written off. Each is an example of a genuine human need going unsatisfied. "There is genuine scientific paydirt in UFOs and alien abductions," writes Sagan, "but it is, I think, of a distinctly home-grown and terrestrial character."

One of Sagan's most heartfelt pleas concerns the need for radical improvements in the teaching of science in schools. Looking back at his path into science, he reports sadly that although once he got to college he was lucky enough to find mentors to encourage him, his experience of high school science had consisted entirely of rote learning of "facts" and had singularly failed to provide him with inspiration.

Poor performance of Americans in surveys of "scientific literacy" is well known, but Sagan points out that even these results (the fact, say, that more than half of Americans apparently do not know that the earth circles the sun once a year), are overoptimistic. What is relevant is not the hodgepodge collection of scientific "facts" that students pick up as gospel truth in school, but the extent to which those students emerge from their education able to think for themselves about scientific and day-to-day problems, and to understand how we know what we know. "The method of science," writes Sagan, "as stodgy and grumpy as it may seem, is far more important than the findings of science." On that count, the situation is grim. The vox pop extracts from letters, which Sagan received in response to an article of his published in Parade magazine, provide a sobering insight into the views of the American populace regarding science. They are not positive.

The overall advice offered by this book is very simple: be skeptical, take nobody's word for it, and wait until you have solid evidence before jumping to conclusions. Sagan recounts with frustration a typical interview about his views on extraterrestrial intelligence:

Interviewer: What do you really think?

Sagan: I just told you what I really think.

Interviewer: Yes, but what's your gut feeling?

But I try not to think with my gut. If I'm serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything other than my brain, as tempting as that might be, is likely to get me into trouble. Really, it's okay to reserve judgement until the evidence is in.