Science is a way to not fool ourselves.
Carl SaganRead
Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group Groups of people from divergent ethnic and cultural backgrounds working in some sense together [is] surely a humanizing and character building experience. If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of unity among diverse human groups for the sake of survival and progress.
Carl Sagan highlights the evolution of human consciousness towards recognizing our interconnectedness as a global community. He suggests that understanding and embracing our shared humanity, despite cultural and ethnic differences, is essential for our collective survival and growth on Earth. By advocating for broader loyalties that encompass the entire planet, Sagan encourages a humanizing perspective that fosters collaboration and mutual respect among all people.
Themes
UnityHumanityCommunityDiversitySurvivalInterconnectedness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be referenced in a speech addressing global cooperation.
More from Carl Sagan
All quotes →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.
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How smart does a chimpanzee have to be before killing him constitutes murder?
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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.
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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.
Carl SaganRead
The simplest thought, like the concept of the number one, has an elaborate logical underpinning.
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