Variedades da Experiência Científica

by Carl Sagan

Paperback

Published Nov. 13, 2008 by COMPANHIA DAS LETRAS - GRUPO CIA DAS LETRAS.

ISBN:: 978-85-359-1132-9

(12 reviews)

On the 10th anniversary of his death, brilliant astrophysisist and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sagan's prescient exploration of the relationship between religion and science and his personal search for God.Carl Sagan is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of our time. His remarkable ability to explain science in terms easily understandable to the layman in bestselling books such as Cosmos, The Dragons of Eden, and The Demon-Haunted World won him a Pulitzer Prize and placed him firmly next to Isaac Asimov, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sachs as one of the most important and enduring communicators of science. In December 2006 it will be the tenth anniversary of Sagan's death, and Ann Druyan, his widow and longtime collaborator, will mark the occasion by releasing Sagan's famous "Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology," The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God.The chance to give the Gifford Lectures is an honor reserved for the most distinguished scientists and philosophers of our civilization. In 1985, on the grand occasion of the centennial of the lectureship, Carl Sagan was invited to give them. He took the opportunity to set down in detail his thoughts on the relationship between religion and science as well as to describe his own personal search to understand the nature of the sacred in the vastness of the cosmos.The Varieties of Scientific Experience, edited, updated and with an introduction by Ann Druyan, is a bit like eavesdropping on a delightfully intimate conversation with the late great astronomer and astrophysicist. In his charmingly down-to-earth voice, Sagan easily discusses his views on topics ranging from manic depression and the possibly chemical nature of transcendance to creationism and so-called intelligent design to the likelihood of intelligent life on other planets to the likelihood of nuclear annihilation of our own to a new concept of science as "informed worship." Exhibiting a breadth of intellect nothing short of astounding, he illuminates his explanations with examples from cosmology, physics, philosophy, literature, psychology, cultural anthropology, mythology, theology, and more. Sagan's humorous, wise, and at times stunningly prophetic observations on some of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos have the invigorating effect of stimulating the intellect, exciting the imagination, and reawakening us to the grandeur of life in the cosmos.

9 editions

protomattr reviewed The Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan

Review of 'The Varieties of Scientific Experience' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

In 1985, Carl Sagan was invited to give a series of talks at the University of Glasgow, as part of their long-running Gifford Lectures on natural theology. Over the course of nine lectures, Sagan essentially argues that the best way to “search for God,” if indeed there is one, is through science, replacing wishful thinking with evidence and reason and so on. He draws an interesting parallel between traditional religion and extraterrestrial encounters, both of which make extraordinary claims, lack compelling evidence, and have proponents who let their emotions, their desire to believe, get the better of them.

The lectures were transcribed from audio recordings and then edited by Sagan’s wife and writing partner Ann Druyan, who explains in the introduction how she tried to keep the essence of a live talk while making the text more fit for a book. If Sagan used visual aids in his talk, these …

Stefany GG reviewed La diversidad de la ciencia by Carl Sagan

Review of 'La diversidad de la ciencia' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Me gusta cuando transcriben las conferencias de los grandes pensadores a modo de libro, de esta forma están a tu alcance y te permiten formar parte de ellas aunque no estuviste ahí.

Carl Sagan fue un gran visionario y siempre quiso difundir el conocimiento y la curiosidad como un modo a partir del cual podemos hacernos una mente crítica y valorar lo importante que es indagar más sobre las cosas, formando un entendimiento basado en la ciencia y una continua búsqueda de la verdad. Hace observaciones muy inteligentes sobre las maravillas del cosmos despertando nuestra imaginación y estimulando las ganas de saber más. Creo que expone con mucha humildad sus observaciones sobre cómo funciona la ciencia y, a su vez, la existencia de un dios (que no importa la religión) que a veces se basa en ideas poco coherentes o inteligibles, invitándonos a informarnos más y madurar nuestra opinión al …

scifijack reviewed The Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan

Review of 'The Varieties of Scientific Experience' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Sagan earned every bit of his reputation as a clear communicator of complex ideas, and that's reflected in this series of essays, originally given as lectures, on the broad theme of our search for meaning through faith and through observation and analysis (i.e., science); the tension between the two, but more often, how they're related and interconnected. Stimulating, thoughtful, and often delightful, and as a series of essays you can put it down and return to it between books, and such.