> Ironically, the randomness that is the reason for Futuyma's rejection
> of a high view of man has become the cornerstone of Sagan's
> humanism. As someone who knows nothing but probability, he must naturally
> justify any belief he has on the basis of probability. While many may
> agree with his high view of life, and some may appreciate his candor
> in attempting to justify what is at heart a religious view, very few
> will be convinced by his epistemology. It turns out that Sagan is
> religious after all!
>
> -------
> Joel W. Cannon
Dear Joel: Thanks for this insight. I always felt that Sagan was playing
brinkmanship with religion throughout the Cosmos series. I don't have any
rigorous proof, but it appears difficult to derive any high values of anything
from pure naturalism. That's why even as a non-Christian I never was satisfied
with humanist platitudes. They didn't seem to follow logically.
On the other hand, it is dangerous to lump together "all worldviews". I know
a Japanese man, a postdoc at NIH, who attended a Bible study at my home for two
years. Then he went back to Japan and sent me a copy of Bertrand Russell's
writings against Christianity. He said this is what he believed, that life is
really meaningless. I think this deep-seated belief is attributable to his
childhood Buddhism. Yet he has a scientific career, a nice family, and sends me
Christmas cards. Go figure.
Paul Arveson, Research Physicist
73367,1236@compuserve.com arveson@oasys.dt.navy.mil
(301) 227-3831 (W) (301) 816-9459 (H)
Code 724, NSWC, Bethesda, MD 20084