Forty years ago this month, I had just finished reading Carl Sagans book, "The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence," a book for which he earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1978. The David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences from 1976 to his death in 1996, Sagan was a famous scientist of many fields relating to the universe: astronomy, planetary science, astrophysics, and astrobiology.
He became best known for his research on extraterrestrial life. He was the author, co-author, or editor of over 600 scientific papers and over 20 books. He narrated and co-wrote the award-winning television series: Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.
As the sub-title suggests, Sagan takes the reader on a wonderful and stimulating journey around the brains of our ancestorshuman and non-humanand our brains today. He then speculates on the growth of our intelligence by explaining the various parts of our brain, their functions, and why we think, speak, act, and even dream the way we do.
The book is magisterial in its scope, its composition, and its readability. He casts a wide net in quoting from the ancients, like Plato and Aristotle, and important writers and thinkers of the past five centuries, like John Milton, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Henry David Thoreau, and Sigmund Freud.
Among other things, the book gave me the gift of wonder. Many times throughout Sagan brings the reader to a certain point and then, he "wonders." In his section dealing with human emotions, he wonders: "Do horses on occasion have glimmerings of patriotic fervor? Do dogs feel for humans something akin to religious ecstasy? What other strong or subtle emotions are felt by animals that do not communicate with us?"
He wonders: "Are our nighttime dreams of flying and daytime passions for flight nostalgic reminiscences of those days gone by in the branches of the high forest?"
In his section on the competition among early hominids and humans, he wonders: "I sometimes wonder whether our myths about gnomes, trolls, giants, and dwarfs could possibly a genetic or cultural memory of those times."
Upon reading the book in 1980, I was so moved that I wrote him a long letter. Six months later, he wrote back and asked me two questions. The first: "What would be necessary to make the reader [of a possible book on international relations] consider not just what is best for one nation or power group in a single nation, but for the human species as a whole? I never answered him; this is my answer.
Dear Professor Sagan: This possible book would have to deal with how the world political system works and would therefore have to deal with the two major theories of the system. A theory or model of the system is necessary, as in your work, because the system is complicated with many moving parts and unknowns. It does not conform to a clear and definitive set of mathematical equations which exist, for example, in astrophysics or planetary science.
My own definition of "theory" is: a set of assumptions and descriptive statements about a field of study which explain and predict behavior. When I say "explain," I mean that it must deal with the "Why?" the causality, of things. Leonardo Da Vinci said: "He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards a ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast."
The two major theories in world politics are: realism and liberalism. In very simple terms, political realism views the world political system as anarchy with no fixed, agreed-upon rules and no over-arching government or "watchman." States are the most important actors, not humans or international organizations. In this environment, states are compelled to look after their own interests. They do this by seeking power and influence. Virtues, such as kindness and generosity, may be laudable for individuals, but they should have no place in a states decision-making. They will get you into trouble.
Political liberalism, on the other hand, emphasizes the unity and goodness of humankind. States may be the most important actors, but individuals make decisions for states, and they can make a difference. While it accepts that the system is one of anarchy, it has faith in people and in diplomacy to create institutions and to establish rules to lessen inequality and the use of violence to settle disputes.
You can see, Professor Sagan, that you and I both hope that more states conform and adhere to the principles of liberalism.
(Note: Stay tuned for Part II and Part III.)
Fred Zilian (zilianblog.com; Twitter: @FredZilian) is an adjunct professor of history and politics at Salve Regina University and a regular columnist.
Follow this link:
LOOKING BACK AT OUR HISTORY: A conversation with Carl Sagan, part I - newportri.com
- Rotational spectra of isotopic species of methyl cyanide, CH_3CN, in their ground vibrational states up to terahertz frequencies - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cosmological parameter extraction and biases from type Ia supernova magnitude evolution - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Continuous monitoring of pulse period variations in Hercules X-1 using Swift/BAT - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Constraining the ortho-to-para ratio of H{_2} with anomalous H{_2}CO absorption - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- A photometric and spectroscopic study of the new dwarf spheroidal galaxy in Hercules - Metallicity, velocities, and a clean list of RGB members - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Luminosities and mass-loss rates of SMC and LMC AGB stars and red supergiants - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Electron beam – plasma system with the return current and directivity of its X-ray emission - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The propagation of the shock wave from a strong explosion in a plane-parallel stratified medium: the Kompaneets approximation - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Analysis of hydrogen-rich magnetic white dwarfs detected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Letter: Centaurus A as TeV \gamma-ray and possible UHE cosmic-ray source - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Young pre-low-mass X-ray binaries in the propeller phase - Nature of the 6.7-h periodic X-ray source 1E 161348-5055 in RCW 103 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Radiative rates and electron impact excitation rates for transitions in Cr VIII - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Solar granulation from photosphere to low chromosphere observed in Ba II 4554 Å line - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Does the HD 209458 planetary system pose a challenge to the stellar atmosphere models? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Effect of asymmetry of the radio source distribution on the apparent proper motion kinematic analysis - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Destriping CMB temperature and polarization maps - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs. II - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Precise data on Leonid fireballs from all-sky photographic records - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An X-ray view of 82 LINERs with Chandra and XMM-Newton data - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Radio observations of ZwCl 2341.1+0000: a double radio relic cluster - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Candidate free-floating super-Jupiters in the young \sigma Orionis open cluster - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The metallicity gradient as a tracer of history and structure: the Magellanic Clouds and M33 galaxies - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- XMMSL1 J060636.2-694933: an XMM-Newton slew discovery and Swift/Magellan follow up of a new classical nova in the LMC - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The inner rim structures of protoplanetary discs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The solar Ba{\sf II} 4554 Å line as a Doppler diagnostic: NLTE analysis in 3D hydrodynamical model - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Magnetic evolution of superactive regions - Complexity and potentially unstable magnetic discontinuities - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Low-mass protostars and dense cores in different evolutionary stages in IRAS 00213+6530 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- PMAS optical integral field spectroscopy of luminous infrared galaxies - I. The atlas - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- First AGILE catalog of high-confidence gamma-ray sources - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Radiative hydrodynamics simulations of red supergiant stars - I. interpretation of interferometric observations - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs around A–F type stars - VII. \theta Cygni radial velocity variations: planets or stellar phenomenon? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cosmic rays and the magnetic field in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253 - II. The magnetic field structure - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Physical structure and water line spectrum predictions of the intermediate mass protostar OMC2-FIR4 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The bright galaxy population of five medium redshift clusters - II. Quantitative galaxy morphology - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Dust in brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets - II. Cloud formation for cosmologically evolving abundances - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The quiet Sun magnetic field observed with ZIMPOL on THEMIS - I. The probability density function - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Complexity in the sunspot cycle - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Properties and nature of Be stars - 26. Long-term and orbital changes of \zeta Tauri - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The massive Wolf-Rayet binary LSS 1964 (=WR 29) - II. The V light curve - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Supernova progenitor stars in the initial range of 23 to 33 solar masses and their relation with the SNR Cassiopeia A - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram of Star Clusters - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Table of the 10 Brightest stars within 10 Parsecs of the Sun - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram of the Nearest Stars - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Magnitude and Color in Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stellar Types - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Brown Dwarfs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spotting the Minimum - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Structure and Evolution of Brown Dwarfs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Bang from the Big Bang Machine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Sizes of the Stars and the Planets - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Implausible Light Thrust - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- the Masses of Degenerate Objects - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Degeneracy Pressure - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Introduction to Degenerate Objects - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Radii of Degenerate Objects - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Inevitability of Black Holes - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Scientific Pig-Out - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Neutrino Cooling of Degenerate Dwarfs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Neutrino Cooling of Neutron Stars - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Overview of Supernovae - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Energetics of Thermonuclear Supernovae - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Thermonuclear Supernovae - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Nuclear Reactions in Thermonuclear Supernovae - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Core-Collapse Supernovae - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Neutrinos and SN 1987A - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Revealing the sub-AU asymmetries of the inner dust rim in the disk around the Herbig Ae star R Coronae Austrinae - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Probing the dust properties of galaxies up to submillimetre wavelengths - I. The spectral energy distribution of dwarf galaxies using LABOCA - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- On the physical origin of the second solar spectrum of the Sc II line at 4247 Å - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- On detecting the large separation in the autocorrelation of stellar oscillation times series - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Imaging the spotty surface of Betelgeuse in the H band - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Chandra observation of Cepheus A: the diffuse emission of HH 168 resolved - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A planetary eclipse map of CoRoT-2a - Comprehensive lightcurve modeling combining rotational-modulation and transits - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The chemical composition of carbon stars. The R-type stars - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Flow instabilities of magnetic flux tubes - IV. Flux storage in the solar overshoot region - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Fragmentation of a dynamically condensing radiative layer - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Temporal variations of the CaXIX spectra in solar flares - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Deuterium chemistry in the Orion Bar PDR - “Warm” chemistry starring CH_{2}D^+ - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Metal abundances in the cool cores of galaxy clusters - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The nature of the X-ray binary IGR J19294+1816 from INTEGRAL, RXTE, and Swift observations - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Relating basic properties of bright early-type dwarf galaxies to their location in Abell 901/902 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]