Sagan, metaphysics and Music

Carl Sagan was a very complex individual who evolved from a brash
young whiz-kid to one of the most eloquent popularizers of science
in the US. He also accomplished a great deal scientifically for which
he failed to receive proper recognition from the National Academy of
Science. Some of his statements about religious belief do sound
condescending, but I think the tone of his last work,"The Demon-
Haunted World" is not, and his accounts of his feelings toward his
parents' deaths are very moving.

I have no idea what Sagan thought of xenharmonic music. I doubt he
ever heard any, except perhaps for the astronomically inspired works
of Terenzi, Stockhausen (astrology in his case), etc. I imagine he
would have reacted to it emotionally as the rest of us do if what he
heard was musically valid.


There is considerable debate these days about the future of science.
There may or may not be a 21st century science as distinguished from a
21st century technology. The concern is whether we will ever have the
technical means to discover new physics, whether the cost of scientific
research will become prohibitive in an over-populated and polluted world,
whether we will ever be able to discover how the brain works, etc. I'm
optimistic, myself, and believe science will continue to advance and
accumulate new knowledge about the physical universe and our place in it.
What 21st or 22nd century science will look like, I have no idea, but I
am sure it will subsume, not contradict, the bulk of 20th century science.

My lack of enthusiasm for "alternative" science and "mysticism" is not
because I am sure there is nothing beyond the reach of scientific
explanation, but because the evidence supporting these alternative
beliefs
is so poor. As Sagan often said, _"Extraordinary claims demand
extraordinary evidence"_.

My second reason is that there is so little original or novel thought
in most of these systems. We've managed to discard alchemy, phlogiston,
"life force," Atlantis, Lemuria, and other scientific superstitions and
errors, but I don't see comparable progress in the metaphysical fields.
Most metaphysical works that I have seen are intensely conservative, and
while no one worships Marduk, Zeus, Huitzilopochtli, Baal, etc. anymore,
the same themes reappear even in the most SF'nal UFO religions. So, why
revive or import someone else's beliefs, when we've largely freed
ourselves from our own superstitions.

While there may well be a metaphysical realm beyond the reach of science,
most of what purports to be "wisdom" seems to me to be telling us more
about the human psyche than about the universe. I think therefore that
most of these belief systems belong to the realm of literature rather
than to cosmology or ontology. Their emotional power is undeniable,
however, even for materialists like myself and I do think that they
may serve as powerful inspirations for significant music. If they help
you compose or perform better, use and cherish them, but keep them
separate from science.

--John



Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl
with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sun, 16 Mar 1997 19:52 +0100
Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA30777; Sun, 16 Mar 1997 19:52:21 +0100
Received: from ella.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA30767
Received: from by ella.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI)
id KAA27205; Sun, 16 Mar 1997 10:50:34 -0800
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 10:50:34 -0800
Message-Id:
Errors-To: madole@mills.edu
Reply-To: tuning@ella.mills.edu
Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu
Sender: tuning@ella.mills.edu