Theme of Carl Sagans The Demon-Haunted World :: Sagan Demon-Haunted World Essays

Theme of The Demon-Haunted World  Books that pass on pseudoscience argon often popular and profitable. Much less marketable are those criminal records which promote skepticism (Nickell 106). The underlying theme in the first range of Carl Sagans book The Demon-Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark is that there can be overwhelming harmful cause if science is not used as a way to go on that which is not comp allowely understood. This means that people should study everything objectively and let popular beliefs interfere when drawing their conclusions. In the last part of the book Sagan emphasizes that education is a tool which is much too rarely apply (Sagan 351). Even without stating it directly, Sagans first theme stands out quite well. It doesnt lurk rump sentences, only occasionally poking its head out, it parades in front the paragraphs locution "look at me" This is because Sagans writing is so vivid and potent. He of necessity only to add a few comments and his examples explain themselves. One the almost obvious places this works is when Sagan writes more or less medicinal drug and its relationship to science. He describes how medicine was making huge advances until the middle ages when a lack of interest in science caused all progression to stop. There was a century where "no advances were made in any field" (Sagan 17). Disease ran rampant. Sagan then writes rough how medicine today has all but eliminated many once black diseases. Here Sagan doesnt have to states his theme, the message is clear where would we be without the medical advances brought near by science? When people stopped using science as a tool to look at the world there was chaos. In the beginning of the chapter entitled "The Path to Freedom," Sagan chronicles the rise of a young Afro-American named Frederick Bailey from an illiterate slave in Baltimore to becoming ane of the greatest orators of his time. He changed his name to th at of a character in Walter Scotts The Lady of the Lake, becoming who we sleep with as Frederick Douglas (Sagan 353). This and the chapters after it do wonders to show just how much of a benefit one can get from an education. Sagan really has strong feelings about the power of knowledge. This probably has to do with the fact that he came from a reject middle class family and by working hard has become one of the most respected scientists in the country (Sagan preface).