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Carl Sagans essay, Can We Know the Universe?

Reflections on a Grain of Salt, is

about the extent of knowledge science can obtain. Sagan proposes that we could finitely know

the universe if we could break the universe down into enough laws, and have the capacity to

understand those laws. Sagan writes that science is the way of thinking about knowledge of the

universe, by breaking it into understandable parts. I think that Sagan means that science is a way

of approaching questions about the universe. Many disciplines question why the world is the way

it is and gather knowledge about it. Science seeks to find laws that are applicable to all situations

and uses a general method to do so.

Casti (1989) also proposes that science is a way of thought. He lists as a misconception

that The primary goal of science is the accumulation of facts (p.11). He finds the collecting of

facts trivial. Instead, he says, For most scientists, science is a game played for understanding

(Casti, 1989, p, 12). At the end of his essay, Sagan shows his appreciation for the fact that the

universe is not currently fully known. Ultimately, science isnt about the destination (knowing all

about the universe), but rather the journey. This is similar to Kuhns appreciation of science as a

puzzle. He proposes that science has both rules and solutions, like a puzzle. These rules come out

of paradigms and paradigms guide research. Paradigms dictate what questions are asked and

what evidence is looked at (Kuhn, 2012). I think that paradigms are where scientists truly start

their scientific method. Casti starts at observations/facts, which in my opinion, are dictated by

the paradigms of the time (Casti, 1989, p.13). Sagan does not see paradigms in the exact same

way. He says that scientists must have the courage to challenge the paradigms surrounding them.

However, in answering the question of what a scientist does, all three readings explain the thrill

of science. It is a methodology for solving the biggest puzzle ever made, the universe.
Works Cited

Casti, J. L. (1989). Paradigms lost tackling the unanswered mysteries of modern science. New

York: Avon Books.

Kuhn, T. S. (2012). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Vol. 4). Chicago: The University of

Chicago Press.

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