In his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Ballantine Books, March 1997, in the chapter titled Science and Hope, Carl Sagan states, “I have a foreboding of an America . . . when the people have lost the ability to set their own agenda or knowledgeably question those in authority; . . . when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what is true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”
Sagan further states, “When we are self-indulgent and uncritical, when we confuse hopes and facts, we slide into pseudoscience and superstition”.
How prophetic from 23 years ago at this writing.
I believe that Sagan, in referring to “knowledgeably question”, is also talking about critical thinking.
Your constructive comments are welcome.
The Fair-minded Thinker