The Demon Haunted World is possibly one of the most insightful books I've read regarding the concept of Pseudoscience and paranormal beliefs. It's context is broken down into several essays and stories, with a brief analysis of each one. The depiction of different concepts, such as the Face on Mars, Ghost Stories, Faith healing and even UFOs provides the reader with a healthy dose of skepticism as these popular concepts are debunked and even discredited. UFOs, for example, were presented as a phenomena that individuals placed faith in without considering the historical and scientific evidence that could easily discredit their existence. His debunking, which included an in depth description of military procedures that implemented the use of technology which used objects that could be misconstrued as UFOs, offered insight into a more directly logical view of this paranormal idea.
Personally, I think that anyone with a strong belief in the paranormal should read this book. I agree with the idea that many individuals fall into a pattern of ignorant belief if they "think" there is no evidence which could contradict the belief. It is human nature to seek out patterns and take comfort in their existence but flagrant disregard for logic, as many individuals portray when they insist that The Face on Mars was put there by a supernatural force, comes across as silly. I believe that this novel provides insight into topics that would make firm believers reconsider their stance on certain ideas and my belief is that I would rather find ways to prove the existence of these phenomena than justify them through the belief of miracles or unprovable supernatural forces.
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I am very interested in this book because I have always found information of these "patterns of life" insightful and very unique.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that anyone that has a strong belief in the paranormal should read this book! But I want to mention that Carl Sagan, very briefly wrote about his feelings and hope that his deceased parents, which he missed very much are in a better place - even though current scientific evidence does not support the existence of a heaven. Even this great scientist had thoughts that are perhaps rooted in the human mind that reflect the paranormal and pseudoscience. I call these wishes or feelings thoughts and not beliefs for they may be a response to grief. It appears that critical thinking does not always come easy in the face of our thoughts. Sometimes our thoughts are of what we want to be true or wish to believe is true. So maybe during the evolution of human culture, human minds developed concepts to explain the phenomena of the human imagination. Some (maybe most?) imagine that our minds (souls) and bodies are separate from one another even though this is scientifically considered to be an impossibility.
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