Carl%20Sagan%20-%20The%20Demon%20Haunted%20World

THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD
gross injustice both. Often, superstition and injustice are imposed by
the same ecclesiastical and secular authorities, working hand in
glove. It is no surprise that political revolutions, scepticism about
religion, and the rise of science might go together. Liberation from
superstition is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for science.
At the same time, it is undeniable that central figures in the
transition from medieval superstition to modern science were
profoundly influenced by the idea of one Supreme God who
created the Universe and established not only commandments
that humans must live by, but laws that Nature itself must abide
by. The seventeenth-century German astronomer Johannes
Kepler, without whom Newtonian physics might not have come to
be, described his pursuit of science as a wish to know the mind of
God. In our own time, leading scientists, including Albert Einstein
and Stephen Hawking, have described their quest in nearly
identical terms. The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead and the
historian of Chinese technology Joseph Needham have also
suggested that what was lacking in the development of science in
non-western cultures was monotheism.
And yet, I think there is strong contrary evidence to this whole
thesis, calling out to us from across the millennia . . .
The small hunting party follows the trail of hoofprints and other
spoor. They pause for a moment by a stand of trees. Squatting on
their heels, they examine the evidence more carefully. The trail
they've been following has been crossed by another. Quickly they
agree on which animals are responsible, how many of them, what
ages and sexes, whether any are injured, how fast they're travelling,
how long ago they passed, whether any other hunters are in pursuit,
whether the party can overtake the game, and if so, how long it will
take. The decision made, they flick their hands over the trail they
will follow, make a quiet sound between their teeth like the wind,
and off they lope. Despite their bows and poison arrows, they
continue at championship marathon racing form for hours. Almost
always they've read the message in the ground correctly. The
wildebeests or elands or okapis are where they thought, in the
numbers and condition they estimated. The hunt is successful. Meat
is carried back to the temporary camp. Everyone feasts.
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