10 quotes
If we long to believe that the stars rise and set for us, that we are the reason there is a Universe, does science do us a disservice in deflating our conceits?
The Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995)
When you make the finding yourself--even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light--you never forget it.
Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.
The chiliasts made an atheist out of me.
Contact (1985)
An atheist has to know a lot more than I know. An atheist is someone who knows there is no god. By some definitions, atheism is very stupid.
Conversations with Carl Sagan (2006)
The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better, it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millenium (1997)
I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.
Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millenium (1997)
There are many hypotheses in science which are wrong. That's perfectly all right; they're the aperture to finding out what's right. Science is a self-correcting process. To be accepted, new ideas must survive the most rigorous standards of evidence and scrutiny.