The ancient Ionians were the first we know of to argue systematically that laws and forces of Nature, rather than gods, are responsible for the order… - Carl Sagan

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The ancient Ionians were the first we know of to argue systematically that laws and forces of Nature, rather than gods, are responsible for the order and even the existence of the world. As Lucretius summarized their views, “Nature free at once and rid of her haughty lords is seen to do all things spontaneously of herself without the meddling of the gods.

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About Carl Sagan

Carl Edward Sagan (9 November 1934 – 20 December 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation. Sagan assembled the first physical messages sent into space, the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record, universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them. Sagan argued the hypothesis, accepted since, that the high surface temperatures of Venus can be attributed to, and calculated using, the greenhouse effect. He testified to the US Congress in 1985 that the greenhouse effect will change the earth's climate system.

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Also Known As

Native Name: Carl Edward Sagan
Alternative Names: Sagan Carl E. Sagan Carl E Sagan C. E. Sagan C.E. Sagan C E Sagan C. Sagan C Sagan Sagan C Sagan C. Sagan C. E. Sagan CE
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En el polo opuesto de la discusión, la frase -derecho a la vida- constituye un ejemplo claro de expresión altisonante concebida para impresionar más que para aclarar las cosas. Ni hoy ni nunca ha existido en ningún país de la tierra el derecho a la vida. Criamos animales domésticos para luego darles muerte, destruimos los bosques, contaminamos ríos y lagos hasta causar la muerte de toda la fauna piscícola, cazamos venados por deporte, leopardos por la piel y ballenas para preparar comida para los perros, atrapamos a los delfines, boqueantes y semiasfixiados, con grandes redes del tipo utilizado para la pesca del atún, y senteciamos a muerte a los perros cachorros para -equilibrar la población-. Todos estos animales y vegetales están tan vivos como nosotros. Lo que muchas sociedades humanas protegen no es la vida, sino la vida el hombre, y aún así desencadenamos guerras con medios -modernos- que causan estragos a la población civil y que suponen un tributo tan escandaloso que muchos de nosotros ni siquiera nos atrevemos a entrar en su consideración.

The emerging picture of the early Solar System does not resemble a stately progression of events designed to form the Earth. Instead, it looks as if our planet was made, and survived, by mere lucky chance,* amid unbelievable violence. Our world does not seem to have been sculpted by a master craftsman. Here too, there is no hint of a Universe made for us.

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