Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes our responsibility to humanity and the planet over individual interests.
Carl Sagan's quote highlights the interconnectedness of all life forms and the importance of prioritizing the well-being of the planet and humanity as a whole. It suggests that we should act as stewards of Earth, advocating for its preservation and the welfare of future generations, rather than just focusing on our personal or national interests.
In practice
This quote is perfect for an environmental awareness campaign.
Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of history.
How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
The hole in the ozone layer is a kind of skywriting. At first it seemed to spell out our continuing complacency before a witch's brew of deadly perils. But perhaps it really tells of a newfound talent to work together to protect the global environment.
There is a reward structure in science that is very interesting: Our highest honors go to those who disprove the findings of the most revered among us. So Einstein is revered not just because he made so many fundamental contributions to science, but because he found an imperfection in the fundamental contribution of Isaac Newton.
The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
Pain is the most individualized thing on earth. It is true that it is the great common bond as well, but that realization only comes when it is over. To suffer is to be alone. To watch another suffer is to know the barrier that shuts each of us away by himself Only individuals can suffer.
I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer.
How vulgar, this hankering after immortality, how vain, how false. Composers are merely scribblers of cave paintings. One writes music because winter is eternal and because, if one didn't, the wolves and blizzards would be at one's throat all the sooner.
I have always been an old-line Henry Clay Whig.
Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.
When we hear a house has fallen do we ask if the ceiling fell with it?
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