The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1996

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-14

Chapters 15-17

Chapters 18-20

Chapters 21-23

Chapters 24-25

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Preface-Chapter 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface Summary

In 1939, a young Sagan stood up to a neighborhood bully, swinging at the boy, missing, and shattering the plate glass window of a local drug store. Afterward, the drug store owner was solicitous, his own father proud of his pluck, and the bully more respectful—consequences that taught Sagan that “Sometimes it was good to fight back” (xi). As this happened at the start of World War II, Sagan’s mother was less pleased than her husband, and reminds her son about soldiers killing each other in Europe. Sagan, peering out the window over the Lower New York Bay, claimed that he could see them fighting on a distant strip of land. His mother dismissed this claim, setting the boy to ponder how it is possible to tell when another person is simply imagining.

Later that same year, Sagan’s parents took him to the New York World’s Fair, where he saw a "World of Tomorrow" made possible by scientific innovation. This early experience with scientific practice had a profound impact on Sagan, who credits his supportive parents with fostering his love of science despite not being scientists themselves, and introducing him to “skepticism and wonder” (xiii), the two fundamental ideas that underpin The Demon-Haunted World. Sagan admits he did not have inspiring science teachers in school, finding instead rote memorization and mathematical rules without context. In college, however, Sagan encountered some of the finest contemporary minds in the sciences: He had Fermi for physics, mathematics with Chandrasekhar, chemistry with Urey, biology with H. J. Muller, and, crucially, planetary astronomy with Kuiper. Kuiper taught Sagan methods to refine his knowledge, and introduced him to the wonder of deep space, a discipline Sagan would pursue and later teach at Cornell. A course in the general humanities rounded out Sagan's education, introducing him to ideas and themes he would not have otherwise encountered.

Chapter 1 Summary

Sagan recounts an interaction with a driver, Mr. Buckley, who is chauffeuring him to a science conference. Mr. Buckley recognizes Sagan and excitedly asks for clarification on several scientific topics, which Saga readily agrees to do. The subjects Mr. Buckley broaches, however, come from the realms of pseudo-science: extraterrestrials, mediums, the power of crystals, and the prophecies of Nostradamus. Time and again, Sagan disappoints the man, as there is no physical evidence to support any of these things. Sagan recognizes that while Mr. Buckley knows very little of modern science, he does have “a natural appetite for the wonders of the Universe” (4). People such as Mr. Buckley, Sagan argues, are often led astray in the natural course of their wonder by “spurious accounts” (5), as they have never been taught the tools of skepticism, or have rejected skepticism altogether. In such people, Sagan recognizes a love of science that has not been fostered by proper education and science culture. Studies suggest that “95 percent of Americans are 'scientifically illiterate'” (6), a cause for serious concern, as it leaves millions of people vulnerable to manipulation by those with ulterior motives. This carries dangerous implications for not only individuals, but also for the future of national policy and democracy itself.

Sagan discusses Hippocrates of Cos, whose careful diagnoses in Ancient Greece are the earliest examples of the scientific method. Sagan explores the many ways that science, particularly modern science, has saved and improved the lives of countless generations, though he admits it is also responsible for countless horrors—from the development of nuclear weapons, to veterans unknowingly being experimented upon in Tuskegee, Alabama, to the plethora of caustic chemicals that are destroying the environment. While the scientific method offers the best path to verifiable knowledge, Sagan understands why pseudoscience is so widely accepted: It is easier and more pleasurable to believe in magic. Sagan does not seek to celebrate the benefits that science has brought, but rather wants to focus on the critical method itself, positioning it as a paradigm for clear thought and a solution for eager minds with a natural appetite for the wonders of the universe.

Chapter 2 Summary

To combat the “dumbing down of America” (25) and to avoid a bleak vision of American society in his grandchildren’s generation—which so startlingly resembles 21st century circumstances that quotations from The Demon Haunted World have become very popular memes—Sagan suggests widespread education in critical thinking. He draws inspiration from A Candle in the Dark (1656), a work by Thomas Ady that condemned witch hunts in England as contrivances to mislead the public and warned that a lack of general knowledge would allow nations to perish. Using Ady's work as the subtitle of his own book, Sagan similarly cautions that should extensive science illiteracy continue, America will once again be plunged into a demon-haunted darkness.

Proper application of the scientific method—which contains its own error-correcting machinery—and skeptical thinking reveals the wonders of the universe. It is sometimes difficult to understand the sometimes arcane findings of science, and to reconfigure our worldviews. If these difficulties are confronted, however, science offers something akin to spiritual experience (Sagan argues there is no necessary implication that "spirit" refers to anything other than matter). Indeed, Sagan claims science “is a profound source of spirituality” (29).

While the process of science appears very messy, this actually proves its validity. Careful and documented experimentation leads to scientific discoveries, which are examined, criticized, and reformulated until they become refined, providing proofs for further exploration while never calcifying. Any scientific proofs, including even those by luminaries such as Isaac Newton, are continually open to re-examination in light of new discoveries. This is the error-correcting machinery of the scientific method, which allows it to transcend individual and cultural opinions and prejudices, providing the most verifiable truths possible.

Sagan ends the chapter by listing four main reasons to convey science to every American citizen: Science allows individuals and nations to rise out of poverty and superstition; science provides an early warning system of the dangers of new technology; science instructs on the fundamental issues of human origins and human nature; and the “values of science and the values of democracy are concordant, in many cases indistinguishable” (38).

Preface-Chapter 2 Analysis

Throughout the work, Sagan humanizes his message though autobiographical details that depict his own process of learning. In the Preface, he uses his awe at the World's Fair and his education in critical thinking to reinforce two fundamental requirements for scientific endeavor: wonder and skepticism. Wonder is the engine that drives experimentation and theorizing, while skepticism underpins the bedrock of established knowledge. Sagan argues that both must be instilled in younger generations to reverse the educational decline of American society. Meanwhile, the anecdote about Sagan's childhood fight with the bully comes with a takeaway that becomes a subtler third aspect to his paradigm: “Sometimes it [is] good to fight back” (xi).

Sagan’s argument style is to make a proposition, contextualize it through several brief examples, and then present a case study for readers to draw their own conclusions. His approach is conversational, not dogmatic, which underscores his experience as a teacher and science communicator. He is loath to come off superior or elitist—either would undermine his message about the universality of science and critical thinking. Rather, he leads with an understanding of confusion, and admits that pseudoscientific claims have an allure. This admission empathizes with, rather than blames, people drawn into spurious beliefs: Sagan upholds wonder as a universal need, countering traditional criticisms of a skeptical approach. The problem isn't the need to feel awe, but the outright acceptance of wild claims, which makes us gullible and leaves our minds untrained. Sagan suggests that the wonders of proper science are just as grand as any pseudoscientific claim, but they can take more work to realize. In order to witness this grandness of the natural world, skeptical thinking must be practiced.

Sagan’s fundamental thesis is simple: “Science is a way of thinking” (25). To illustrate benefits of skeptical, or critical, thinking, Sagan takes on pseudoscience, whose claims can be dispelled with the rigorous application of his method. In particular, Sagan chooses a particular problem close to his heart as an astrophysicist: claims of the existence of extraterrestrials and alien abduction. Working through the skeptical approach to such phenomena will allow him to detail his process, while humanizing the scientist behind it.