- published: 23 Nov 2011
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- Abacomancy
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Alexandria
Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية Al Iskandariyya, Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟⲧⲉ Rakotə, Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Alexándria, Koine Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον IPA: [ɑlɛˈksɑndɾiɑ e kɑt ˈɛʝypton] "Alexandria in Egypt", Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه [eskendeˈrejːæ]) is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria). It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.
Alexandria was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its library (the largest library in the ancient world); and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
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Babylon
Coordinates: 32°32′11″N 44°25′15″E / 32.53639°N 44.42083°E / 32.53639; 44.42083
Babylon (Arabic: بابل, Babil; Akkadian: Bābili(m);Sumerian logogram: KÁ.DINGIR.RAKI;Hebrew: בָּבֶל, Bābel;Greek: Βαβυλών, Babylōn) was an Akkadian city-state (founded in 1867 BC by an Amorite dynasty) of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babylon Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods.
Available historical resources suggest that Babylon was at first a small town which had sprung up by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The town flourished and attained independence with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Claiming to be the successor of the ancient Eridu, Babylon eclipsed Nippur as the "holy city" of Mesopotamia around the time an Amorite king named Hammurabi first created the short lived Babylonian Empire; this quickly dissolved upon his death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. Babylon again became the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 to 539 BC which was founded by Chaldeans and whose last king was an Assyrian. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of Babylon it came under the rules of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid empires.
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Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد, Baġdād, IPA: [bæɣˈdæːd]) is the capital of Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).
Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic World. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g. House of Wisdom) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 1,200,000 people. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1938, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arabic culture.
wn.com/Baghdad -
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) (206 BCE – 220 CE) was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and Chinese characters are referred to as "Han characters".
wn.com/Han_Dynasty -
Han dynasty
The Han Dynasty (simplified Chinese: 汉朝; traditional Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàn Cháo; Wade–Giles: Han Ch'ao; IPA: [xân tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]) (206 BCE – 220 CE) was an imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BCE) and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE). It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (9–23 CE) of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE – 9 CE) and Eastern Han (25–220 CE). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people" and Chinese characters are referred to as "Han characters".
wn.com/Han_dynasty -
India
India (
i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Los Angeles
Los Angeles (
i/lɒs ˈændʒələs/ loss-AN-jə-ləs; Spanish: [los ˈaŋxeles], which is written Los Ángeles; British pronounciation /lɒs ˈændʒəliːz/ loss-AN-jə-leez) with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in the state of California, and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of 468.67 square miles (1,213.8 km2), and is located in Southern California. Often known by its initials L.A., the city is the focal point of the larger Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area and Greater Los Angeles Area region, which contain 12,828,837 and nearly 18 million people respectively as of 2010, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world and the second largest in the United States. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, while the entire Los Angeles area itself has been recognized as the most diverse of the nation's largest cities. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos".
wn.com/Los_Angeles -
Sortes
Sortes is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Bragança. The population in 2001 was 320, its density is 14.6/km² and the area is 21.93km².
Coordinates: 41°42′22″N 6°49′44″W / 41.706°N 6.829°W / 41.706; -6.829
wn.com/Sortes -
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon (
/sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
wn.com/Sri_Lanka -
Venice
Venice (Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsja] (
listen), Venetian: Venexia [veˈnɛsja]; (Latin: Venetia) is a city in northeast Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. The city in its entirety is listed as World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.
Venice is the capital of the Veneto region. In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice's comune (the population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazioni of Mestre and Marghera; 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon). Together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE) (population 1,600,000).
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Al Mansur
Al-Mansur or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur (95 AH – 158 AH (714 AD – 775 AD);Arabic: أبو جعفر عبدالله بن محمد المنصور) was the second Abbasid Caliph from 136 AH to 158 AH (754 AD – 775 AD).
Al-Mansur was born at the home of the 'Abbasid family after their emigration from the Hejaz in 95 AH (714 AD). "His father, Muhammad, was reputedly a great-grandson of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the youngest uncle of Mohammad; his mother, as described in the 14th century Moorish historian Ali Ibn-Abd Allah's Rawd al-Qirtas was a "Berber woman given to his father." He reigned from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH (754 AD – 775 AD). In 762 he founded as new imperial residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam(the city of peace), which became the core of the Imperial capital Baghdad.
Al-Mansur was concerned with the solidity of his regime after the death of his brother, Abu'l `Abbas, who later become known as-Saffah (the blood spreader = bloody). In 755 he arranged the assassination of Abu Muslim. Abu Muslim was a loyal freed man from the eastern Iranian province of Khorasan who had led the Abbasid forces to victory over the Umayyads during the Third Islamic Civil War in 749-750. At the time of al-Mansur he was the subordinate, but undisputed ruler of Iran and Transoxiana. The assassination seems to have been made to preclude a power struggle in the empire. Though some findings suggest the Abu Muslim became incredulous and paranoid, thus assassination was necessary and arranged[citation needed].
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Alfred Witte
Alfred Witte (2 March 1878, 21:12:44 LMT, Hamburg – 4 August 1941, 4:01 MET, Hamburg) was a German surveyor, astrologer, an amateur astronomer, and the founder of the Hamburg School of Astrology. Witte revived and further developed the use of astrological midpoints for precision in astrological analysis and prediction. Alfred Witte died 4 August 1941, 4:01 MET, Hamburg.
In his early writings in the 1920s (his first was 1913), he experimented with numerous historical astrology techniques, including the astrological houses, planetary formulae similar to Arabic parts, and for a brief period a new scheme of planetary rulerships. His approach to astrology was to verify assumptions by current reality checks rather than historical validation. He sought to approach astrology as a science, and the controversy over his assertion of the existence of Trans-Neptunian objects other than Pluto led to widespread ridicule and rejection during his later years.
In Wiite's times, many Astronomers proposed hypothetical Trans-Neptunian objects. So Witte proposed the existence of several hypothetical Trans-Neptunian objects, too. While modern technology has verified the existence of thousands of Trans-Neptunian objects, the specific Trans-Neptunian objects that are used by the Hamburg School and Uranian astrology have not yet been validated or disproven as of September 2011. Some members of the Hamburg School have for a number of years asserted that some of Witte's Trans-Neptunians may actually be the barycenters of clusters of Trans-Neptunian objects, and shun both the labels "planet" and "object" for this reason. Witte did however describe the colors of two of his inner Transneptunians, Cupido and Hades, in articles in the anthology Der Mensch - Eine Empfangsstation kosmischer Suggestionen. Witte was prohibited by the Third Reich from recording his observations during the last years of his life.
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Averroism
Averroism is the term applied to either of two philosophical trends among scholastics in the late 13th century: (a) the Arab philosopher Averroës or Ibn Rushd's interpretations of Aristotle and his reconciliation of Aristotelianism with Islamic faith; and (b) the application of these ideas in the Latin Christian and Jewish intellectual traditions, such as Siger of Brabant, Boetius of Dacia, and Maimonides. The term was originally coined by Ernst Renan.
Averroes at the time of Dante Alighieri was probably the most widely condemned thinker in the medieval Christian world... Averroism became virtually synonymous with atheism in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance . As an historiographical category it was first developed by Ernest Renan in Averroès et l'averroïsme (1852). Later historians applied the name to significant uses and expressions of elements of Averroes' doctrines and to the exegetical tradition of Aristotle by Jewish and Christian thinkers as it had come down through the Latin and Hebrew traditions. "Averroist" can therefore describe a range of positions, up to and including scholars interested in the historical phenomenon of Averroes' influence[citation needed].
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Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Persian پورسينا Pur Sina [ˈpuːr ˈsiːnɑː] "son of Sina"; c. 980, Afshana near Bukhara– 1037, Hamadan, Iran), commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persianpolymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving treatises concentrate on philosophy and 40 of them concentrate on medicine.
His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. The Canon of Medicine was used as a text-book in the universities of Montpellier and Leuven as late as 1650. Ibn Sīnā's Canon of Medicine provides a complete system of medicine according to the principles of Galen (and Hippocrates).
His corpus also includes writing on philosophy, astronomy, alchemy, geology, psychology, Islamic theology, logic, mathematics, physics, as well as poetry. He is regarded as the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic Golden Age.
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Bruno Huber
Bruno Huber (November 29, 1930 - November 3, 1999) was a Swiss astrologer who, with his wife, Louise Huber, founded the Huber School of Astrology in 1962. This school of thought specializes in astrological psychology. A later branch of the school opened in the UK in 1983. He previously worked as an assistant to Roberto Assagioli doing psychosynthesis and was a follower of Assagioli's friend and colleague Alice Bailey.
Bruno Huber created a network described in http://www.info-sectes.ch/secte-astropsycholoqie-huber.htm
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Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung (/ˈjʊŋ/ YUUNG; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf ˈjʊŋ]; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, the founder of analytical psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and symbolization. While he was a fully involved and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring tangential areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and sociology, as well as literature and the arts.
Jung considered individuation, a psychological process of integrating the opposites including the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining their relative autonomy, necessary for a person to become whole. Individuation is the central concept of analytical psychology.
Many psychological concepts were first proposed by Jung, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and synchronicity. Popular psychometric instruments like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), have been principally developed from Jung's theories.
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Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan ( /ˈseɪɡɪn/; November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. He advocated scientifically skeptical inquiry and the scientific method, pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Sagan is known for his popular science books and for the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which he narrated and co-wrote. The book Cosmos was published to accompany the series. Sagan wrote the novel Contact, the basis for a 1997 film of the same name.
Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Ukrainian Jewish family. His father, Sam Sagan, was an immigrant garment worker from Kamenets-Podolsk, Ukraine; his mother, Rachel Molly Gruber, a housewife. Carl was named in honor of Rachel's biological mother, Chaiya Clara, in Sagan's words, "the mother she never knew." Sagan graduated from Rahway High School in Rahway, New Jersey, in 1951.
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Category Theologians
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Dane Rudhyar
Dane Rudhyar (March 23, 1895, in Paris – September 13, 1985, in San Francisco), born Daniel Chennevière, was an author, modernist composer and humanistic astrologer. He was the pioneer of modern transpersonal astrology.
Dane Rudhyar was born in Paris on March 23, 1895. At the age of 12, a severe illness and surgery disabled him, and he turned to music and intellectual development to compensate for his lack of physical agility. He studied at the Sorbonne, University of Paris (graduating at the age of 16), and at the Paris Conservatoire. His early ventures into philosophy and his association with the artistic community in Paris led to his conviction that all existence is cyclical in character. Influenced by Nietzsche as a youth, Rudhyar visioned himself as a "seed man" of new age cultural evolution.
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Donald Regan
Donald Thomas Regan (December 21, 1918 – June 10, 2003) was the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from 1981 to 1985, and Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 in the Ronald Reagan Administration, where he advocated "Reaganomics" and tax cuts to create jobs and stimulate production.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Kathleen (née Ahearn) and William Francis Regan, he was of Irish Catholic origins. Regan earned his bachelor's degree in English from Harvard University in 1940 and attended Harvard Law School before dropping out to join the United States Marine Corps at the outset of World War II. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel while serving in the Pacific theater, and was involved in five major campaigns including Guadalcanal and Okinawa.
After the War, he joined Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in 1946, as an account executive trainee, working up through the ranks, eventually taking over as Merrill Lynch's chairman and CEO in 1971, the year the company went public. He held those positions until 1980.
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Douglas Harper
Douglas Harper is a historian, author, and journalist based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. He is the author of historical books on Civil War-era Chester County, Pennsylvania. He is the founder of the Online Etymology Dictionary.
Harper has written the following books and articles:
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Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban(s),KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Although his political career ended in disgrace, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method during the scientific revolution.
Bacon has been called the creator of empiricism. His works established and popularised inductive methodologies for scientific inquiry, often called the Baconian method, or simply the scientific method. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, much of which still surrounds conceptions of proper methodology today.
Bacon was knighted in 1603, and created both the Baron Verulam in 1618, and the Viscount St Alban in 1621; as he died without heirs both peerages became extinct upon his death. He famously died by contracting pneumonia while studying the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat.
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Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer ( /ˈtʃɔːsər/; c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. While he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, alchemist and astronomer, composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his ten year-old son Lewis, Chaucer also maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best known today for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London sometime around 1343, though the precise date and location of his birth remain unknown. His father and grandfather were both London vintners; several previous generations had been merchants in Ipswich. (His family name derives from the French chausseur, meaning "shoemaker".) In 1324 John Chaucer, Geoffrey's father, was kidnapped by an aunt in the hope of marrying the twelve-year-old boy to her daughter in an attempt to keep property in Ipswich. The aunt was imprisoned and the £250 fine levied suggests that the family was financially secure—bourgeois, if not elite. John Chaucer married Agnes Copton, who, in 1349, inherited properties including 24 shops in London from her uncle, Hamo de Copton, who is described in a will dated April 3, 1354 and listed in the City Hustings Roll as "moneyer"; he was said to be moneyer at the Tower of London. In the City Hustings Roll 110, 5, Ric II, dated June 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer refers to himself as me Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii, Londonie' .
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George Saliba
George Saliba is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University, New York, United States, where he has been working since 1979.
Saliba received his Bachelor of Science (1963) in mathematics and a Master of Arts (1965) from the American University of Beirut; he earned a Master of Science degree in Semitic languages and a doctorate in Islamic sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. He has received a number of awards and honors, including the History of Science Prize given by the Third World Academy of Science in 1993, and the History of Astronomy Prize in 1996 from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science. He was also selected as a Distinguished Kluge Chair, at the Library of Congress (2005-2006), and as a Distinguished Carnegie Scholar (2009-2010).
In his website he writes about himself: "I study the development of scientific ideas from late antiquity until early modern times, with a special focus on the various planetary theories that were developed within the Islamic civilization and the impact of such theories on early European astronomy."
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Georges Charpak
Georges Charpak (1 August 1924 – 29 September 2010) was a French physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1992.
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Great Spirit
The Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, the Creator or the Great Maker in English, and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nations cultures. According to Lakotah activist Russell Means a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.
The Great Spirit or Great Mystery is generally believed to be personal, close to the people, and immanent in the fabric of the material world. Lakotah prayers refer to Him as Grandfather; however, not all Nations assign gender, or only one gender, to the Great Mystery. Chief Dan Evehema, a spiritual leader of the Hopi Nation, described the Great Spirit as follows:
"Old Man" is how the Great Mystery is "known" by the Blackfoot people. Old Man personally created all things and personally instructed the Blackfoot people on how to attain spiritual wisdom in daily life: Old Man is not an anthropomorphic and anthropopathic god like Jesus, nor a panentheistic deity as in Brahmanism out of which the whole fabric of existence is derived. Rather, Old Man is simply acknowledged to exist in the sense of the Aristotelian "prime mover" ("prime mover" idiom provided for the benefit of European audiences) and the traditional teachings are attributed to "him" as a source. There are specific tales regarding Old Man doing this or that or saying this or that but rather than being enshrined in a ritualistic, symbolic, or codified religion, these teachings are more used to guide individuals and communities on a moment-by-moment basis. It is not a set of laws or code of living as much as a cultural lifestyle which focuses on the daily needs of the individual and the nation rather than any "universal" speculation. [op cit.]
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Guido Bonatti
Guido Bonatti (died between 1296 and 1300) was an Italian astronomer and astrologer from Forlì. He was the most celebrated astrologer in Europe in his century.
His dates of birth and death are unknown, the latter probably occurring between 1296 and 1300. In 1233 he is known as the winner of a dispute in Bologna with the friar Giovanni Schio from Vicenza, who maintained the non-scientificity of astrology.
He was advisor of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Ezzelino da Romano III, Guido Novello da Polenta and Guido I da Montefeltro. He served also the communal governments of Florence, Siena and Forlì. His book Liber Astronomiae, written around 1277, was reputed "the most important astrological work produced in Latin in the 13th century".
He also appears in Dante's Divine Comedy, where he is in hell as punishment for his astrology.
There is a tradition that Bonatti, towards the end of his life, took the friar's habit of the Franciscan Order. This has been contested as Bonati, expressed great disdain for Franciscans in his early period. However, the Franciscan Order, in its annual publication, Franciscan Studies, lay claim to Fra Guido Bonati. The 1924 inaugural issue of Franciscan Studies captioned its monologue as "Science in the Franciscan Order: a historical sketch" by John M. Lenhart, O.F.M. Cap. Lenhart states the following:
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Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst, 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets.
His early works show the influence of Grieg, Wagner,Richard Strauss and fellow student Ralph Vaughan Williams, and later, through Vaughan Williams, the music of Ravel. The combined influence of Ravel, Hindu spiritualism and English folk tunes enabled Holst to free himself of the influence of Wagner and Strauss and to forge his own style. Holst's music is well known for unconventional use of metre and haunting melodies.
Holst composed almost 200 works, including operas, ballets, choral hymns and songs. An enthusiastic educator, Holst became music master at St Paul's Girls' School in 1905 and director of music at Morley College in 1907, continuing in both posts until retirement. He also taught singing at Wycombe Abbey School from 1912 until 1917.
He was the brother of Hollywood actor Ernest Cossart and father of the composer and conductor Imogen Holst, who wrote a biography of him in 1938.
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Hesiod
Hesiod ( /ˈhiːsiəd/ or /ˈhɛsiəd/;Ancient Greek: Ἡσίοδος, Hēsíodos) was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs. Modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought (he is sometimes identified as the first economist), archaic Greek astronomy and ancient time-keeping.
Hesiod practised various styles of traditional verse, including gnomic, hymnic, genealogical and narrative poetry, but he was not able to manipulate them all fluently. Comparisons with Homer can be unflattering. As one modern scholar observed: "It is as if an artisan with his big, awkward fingers were patiently, fascinatedly, imitating the fine seam of the professional tailor."
The dating of his life is a contested issue in scholarly circles and it is covered below in Dating.
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History of astrology
Astrology, the belief in a connection between the cosmos and terrestrial matters has played an important part in human history.
Regional branches of astrology include Western astrology, Indian astrology, and Chinese or East Asian astrology.
Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. It has therefore been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and then predict, seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.
Early evidence of such practices appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show that lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago; the first step towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar. Agriculture needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities. By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.
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Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS MP (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727 [NS: 4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727]) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived." His monograph Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, lays the foundations for most of classical mechanics. In this work, Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws, by demonstrating the consistency between Kepler's laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation, thus removing the last doubts about heliocentrism and advancing the Scientific Revolution.
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J K Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, ( /ˈroʊlɪŋ/) OBE, FRSL (born 31 July 1965), known as J. K. Rowling, is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies to become the best-selling book series in history and been the basis for a popular series of films, in which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts as well as maintaining creative control by serving as a producer on the final instalment. Rowling conceived the idea for the series on a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990.
Rowling has led a "rags to riches" life story, in which she progressed from living on social security to multi-millionaire status within five years. As of March 2011[update], when its latest world billionaires list was published, Forbes estimated Rowling's net worth to be US$1 billion. The 2008 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £560 million ($798 million), ranking her as the twelfth richest woman in the United Kingdom.Forbes ranked Rowling as the forty-eighth most powerful celebrity of 2007, and Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fans. In October 2010, J. K. Rowling was named 'Most Influential Woman in Britain' by leading magazine editors. She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, One Parent Families, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain, and Lumos (formerly the Children's High Level Group).
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Joan Quigley
Joan Quigley (born April 10, 1927), of San Francisco, is an astrologer best known for her astrological advice to the Reagan White House in the 1980s. Quigley was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
She was called on by First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1981 after John Hinckley's attempted assassination of the president, and stayed on as the White House astrologer in secret until being outed in 1988 by ousted former chief of staff Donald Regan.
Quigley first met Nancy Reagan in the 1970s on The Merv Griffin Show. Nancy Reagan grew concerned after the attempt on her husband's life on March 30, 1981 and asked Quigley if she could have foreseen, and possibly prevented, the assassination attempt. Quigley answered affirmatively, that had she been looking, she would have known. Mrs. Reagan enlisted Quigley's astrological advice on a regular basis, and would hold regular telephone conversations with her. Explaining why she turned to Quigley, Nancy later wrote, "Very few people can understand what it's like to have your husband shot at and almost die, and then have him exposed all the time to enormous crowds, tens of thousands of people, any one of whom might be a lunatic with a gun... I was doing everything I could think of to protect my husband and keep him alive."[citation needed]
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Liz Greene
Liz Greene, (born 4 September 1946 in Englewood, New Jersey, USA) is an American-British astrologer, psychologist and author. She is the sister of the late author Richard Leigh. Her father was born in London, and her mother in the USA.
Greene has written several astrology books based on Jungian psychology and other forms of depth psychology, contributing to an application of astrology called Psychological astrology. She relocated to the UK, then to Zürich, Switzerland to continue her work. Since 2004 she has again been living in the UK.
In 1985 Greene started co-operating with Alois Treindl, founder of Swiss-based Astrodienst, on the development of computer-generated horoscopes, which would present a person with a chart synthesis, simulating Greene's own method of horoscope interpretation during a personal reading. Two years later, in 1987, they presented the Psychological Horoscope Analysis, which was followed by several other interpretations. Greene remains Astrodienst's most popular author.
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Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American author and journalist. One novel by Mitchell was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel, Gone with the Wind. For it she won the National Book Award for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937. In more recent years, a collection of Mitchell's girlhood writings and a novella she wrote as a teenager, Lost Laysen, have been published. A collection of articles written by Mitchell for The Atlanta Journal was republished in book form. These additional works have enabled scholars and the public to more fully comprehend the richness and depth of Margaret Mitchell's writing.
Margaret Mitchell was a Southerner and a lifelong resident and native of Atlanta, Georgia, who was born in 1900 into a wealthy and politically prominent family. Her father, Eugene Muse Mitchell, was an attorney, and her mother, Mary Isabel "May Belle" (or "Maybelle") Stephens, was a suffragist. She had two brothers, Russell Stephens Mitchell, who died in infancy in 1894, and Alexander Stephens Mitchell, born in 1896.
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Mashallah ibn Athari
Masha'allah ibn Atharī (c.740–815 AD) was an eighth-century Persian Jewishastrologer and astronomer from the city of Basra (now located in modern day Iraq) who became the leading astrologer of the late 8th century. The Arabic phrase ma sha`a allah indicates acceptance of what God has ordained in terms of good or ill fortune that may befall a believer. His real name was probably Manasseh or Jethro[citation needed], and Latin translators named him Messahala (with many variants, as Messahalla, Messala, Macellama, Macelarma, Messahalah). The crater Messala on the Moon is named after him. Science historian Donald Hill writes that Mashallah was originally from Khorasan.
As a young man he participated in the founding of Baghdad in 762 by working with a group of astrologers led by Naubakht the Persian to pick an electional horoscope for the founding of the city. He wrote over twenty works on astrology, which became authoritative in later centuries at first in the Middle East, and then in the West when horoscopic astrology was transmitted back to Europe beginning in the 12th century.
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Mazdak
Mazdak (in Persian مزدک) (died c. 524 or 528) was a proto-socialistPersian reformer and religious activist who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian Shahanshah Kavadh I. He claimed to be a prophet of God, and instituted communal possessions and social welfare programs.
Mazdak was the chief representative of a religious and philosophical teaching called Mazdakism, which he viewed as a reformed and purified version of Zoroastrianism, although his teaching has been argued to display influences from Manichaeism as well. Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion of Sassanid Persia, and Mazdak himself was a Zoroastrian priest, or mobed, but most of the Zoroastrian clergy regarded his teaching as a heresy. Information about it is scarce and little is known beyond what is listed below; some further details may be inferred from the later doctrine of Khurramism, which has been seen as a continuation of Mazdakism.
Some sources claim that the original founders of this sect lived earlier than Mazdak. These were another mobed named Zardusht (of the same name, but not the same person as the founder of Zoroastrianism) and/or a Zoroastrian philosopher known as Mazdak the Elder, who taught a combination of altruism and hedonism: "he directed his followers to enjoy the pleasures of life and satisfy their appetite in the highest degree with regard to eating and drinking in the spirit of equality,to aim at good deeds; to abstain from shedding blood and inflicting harm on others; and to practice hospitality without reservation". This doctrine was further developed by the best known Mazdak, Mazdak the Younger, son of Bāmdād. At later stages the opposition to Mazdak blamed them for heresy and sharing women etc. which is not true. They are considered to be the first real socialists of human history who emphasized the community work and benefits for all.
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Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica (Spanish: Mesoamérica) is a region and cultural area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries.
As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures. Beginning as early as 7000 BC the domestication of maize, beans, squash and chili, as well as the turkey and dog, caused a transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherer tribal grouping to the organization of sedentary agricultural villages. In the subsequent formative period, agriculture and cultural traits such as a complex mythological and religious tradition, a vigesimal numeric system, and a complex calendric system, a tradition of ball playing, and a distinct architectural style, were diffused through the area. Also in this period villages began to become socially stratified and develop into chiefdoms with the development of large ceremonial centers, interconnected by a network of trade routes for the exchange of luxury goods such as obsidian, jade, cacao, cinnabar, Spondylus shells, hematite, and ceramics. While Mesoamerican civilization did know of the wheel and basic metallurgy, neither of these technologies became culturally important.
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Nakh peoples
Nakh peoples are a group of historical and modern ethnic groups speaking (or historically speaking) Nakh languages and sharing certain cultural traits. In modern days, they reside almost completely in the North Caucasus, but historically large areas of the South Caucasus may have also been Nakh.
The only healthy, living branch of the Nakh languages are now the Vainakh languages (spoken by the Vainakh peoples, namely Chechens, Ingush and Georgian Kist), due to the extinction of other peoples. The only non-Vainakh modern Nakh people are the Bats people in Northeast Georgia, but they are largely assimilated and their language is highly endangered.
Although the Vainakh are only a branch of Nakh peoples, due to the present day situation where the only well-known Nakh are Vainakh, the words Vainakh and Nakh are frequently confused. Hence the word Vainakh is mistakenly applied to historical non-Vainakh frequently.
The early history of the Nakh peoples has been tentatively reconstructed from linguistic analysis and archaeological evidence.
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Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921) is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989.
Nancy was born in New York City; her parents divorced soon after her birth and she grew up in Maryland, living with an aunt and uncle while her mother pursued acting jobs. As Nancy Davis, she was an actress in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s, starring in films such as Donovan's Brain, Night into Morning, and Hellcats of the Navy. In 1952 she married Ronald Reagan, who was then president of the Screen Actors Guild, and they had two children. Nancy was the First Lady of California when her husband was Governor from 1967 to 1975. In that capacity, she began work with the Foster Grandparents Program.
Nancy Reagan became First Lady of the United States in January 1981 following her husband's election. She was criticized early in his first term largely due to her decision to replace the White House china, despite it being paid for by private donations. Nancy restored a Kennedy-esque glamor to the White House following years of lax formality, and her interest in high-end fashion garnered much attention, as well as criticism. She championed recreational drug prevention causes by founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign, which was considered her major initiative as first lady. Always protective of her husband, more controversy ensued when it was revealed in 1988 that she had consulted an astrologer to assist in planning the president's schedule after the 1981 assassination attempt on her husband. She had a strong influence on her husband and played a role in a few of his personnel and diplomatic decisions.
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Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( /ˈniːəl dəˈɡræs ˈtaɪsən/ born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Since 2006 he has hosted the educational science television show NOVA scienceNOW on PBS, and has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jeopardy!. It was announced on August 5, 2011, that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series.
Tyson was born as the second of three children in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, but was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Sunchita Feliciano Tyson, was a gerontologist and his father, Cyril deGrasse Tyson, was a sociologist, human resource commissioner for the New York City mayor, John Lindsay, and was the first Director of HARYOU. Tyson attended the Bronx High School of Science (1972–1976, astrophysics emphasis) where he was captain of the wrestling team and was editor-in-chief of the school's Physical Science Journal. Tyson had an abiding interest in astronomy from the age of eleven, following his visit to the Hayden Planetarium at age nine. Tyson recalls that "so strong was that imprint [of the night sky] that I'm certain that I had no choice in the matter, that in fact, the universe called me." He obsessively studied astronomy in his teens, and eventually even gained some fame in the astronomy community by giving lectures on the subject at the age of fifteen.
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Olelbis
Olelbis (meaning "he who is above") is the creator deity in Wintun mythology. The antagonist of Olelbis is Sedit.
According to the mythology of the Wintum tribe, Olelbis desired that the members of the human race should live together as brothers and sisters; that there should be no birth and no death, that life should be agreeable and easy, and the purpose of life should be to rejoining Olelbis in heaven and live with him for all eternity. To satisfy the hunger of the human body, Olelbis created a species of nut which has no shell and falls off the tree when it is ripe (this species of nut or fruit is still a staple item of the Wintum’s diet). Olelbis ordered two brothers to build a paved road from earth to heaven to facilitate the tribe’s reunion with their Creator. But Sedit appeared on the scene and persuaded one of the brothers that it would be better to engage in sexual intercourse and procreate the human species. The one persuaded by Sedit argued the other into agreement, so both defected from Olelbis and joined together to destroy the road they were building to heaven. Sedit, horrified when he finds he has brought death to the human race and must die himself, tries to escape his fate. He makes himself a mechanism of boughs and leaves (a plane), by means of which he hopes to fly to heaven. But he crashes and is killed. Olelbis looks down from the heights of heaven and says, "See. The first death! From henceforth (all) men shall die."
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Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz (born December 21, 1925 in Newark, New Jersey) is a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism." He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research.
Kurtz has published of over 800 articles or reviews and has authored and edited over 50 books. Many of his books have been translated into over 60 languages. They include "The Transcendental Temptation," "Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Secularism," "The Courage to Become," and "Multi-Secularism: A New Agenda." His published bibliography of writings from 1952 to 2003 runs over 79 pages.
Kurtz founded the publishing house Prometheus Books in 1969. He is also the founder and past chairman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP)), the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry. On May 18, 2010, he resigned from all these positions. Moreover, the Center for Inquiry accepted his resignation as chairman emeritus and board member, the culmination of a years-long "leadership transition," thanking him "for his decades of service" while alluding to "concerns about Dr. Kurtz’s day-to-day management of the organization."
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Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (23 AD – August 25, 79 AD), better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work, Naturalis Historia, which became a model for all such works written subsequently. Pliny the Younger, his nephew, wrote of him in a letter to the historian Tacitus:
Pliny is referring to the fact that Tacitus relied on his uncle's now missing work on the History of the German Wars. Pliny the Elder died on August 25, 79 AD, while attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that had just destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The prevailing wind would not allow his ship to leave the shore. His companions attributed his collapse and death to toxic fumes; but they were unaffected by the fumes, suggesting natural causes.
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Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy ( /ˈtɒləmi/; Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος, Klaudios Ptolemaios; Latin: Claudius Ptolemaeus; c. AD 90 – c. AD 168), was a Greek-Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid. This theory, proposed by Theodore Meliteniotes, could be correct, but it is late (ca. 1360) and unsupported. There is no reason to suppose that he ever lived anywhere else than Alexandria, where he died around AD 168.
Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, at least three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest (in Greek, Ἡ Μεγάλη Σύνταξις, "The Great Treatise", originally Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις, "Mathematical Treatise"). The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known sometimes in Greek as the Apotelesmatika (Ἀποτελεσματικά), more commonly in Greek as the Tetrabiblos (Τετράβιβλος "Four books"), and in Latin as the Quadripartitum (or four books) in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day.
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Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos (Ancient Greek: Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος [Πυθαγόρης in Ionian Greek] Pythagóras ho Sámios "Pythagoras the Samian", or simply Πυθαγόρας; b. about 570 – d. about 495 BC) was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos, and might have travelled widely in his youth, visiting Egypt and other places seeking knowledge. Around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, a Greek colony in southern Italy, and there set up a religious sect. His followers pursued the religious rites and practices developed by Pythagoras, and studied his philosophical theories. The society took an active role in the politics of Croton, but this eventually led to their downfall. The Pythagorean meeting-places were burned, and Pythagoras was forced to flee the city. He is said to have ended his days in Metapontum.
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Reinhold Ebertin
Dr. Reinhold Ebertin (February 16, 1901 - March 14, 1988) was a German physician and astrologer.
Ebertin utilized the research on astrological midpoints of Hamburg School surveyor and astrologer Alfred Witte first published in 1928 in Witte's Regelwerk für Planetenbilder. Shortly after Witte's death in 1941, Ebertin used Witte's extensive research on astrological midpoints, and a 4th-harmonic "90° dial" developed by the Hamburg School of Astrology as the foundations of his School of Cosmobiology[citation needed]. Ebertin continued to promote astrological research, including medical applications of astrology while non-compliant Hamburg School astrologers were interned by the Third Reich, their books and publications banned.[citation needed]
Reinhold Ebertin's main reference text on Cosmobiology entitled The Combination of Stellar Influences, sometimes referred to as the 'CSI' or the 'COSI', was inspired by Alfred Witte's Rulebook of Planetary Pictures . Ebertin's book was first published in 1940 and the most recent updates in the English translation were added in 1972. Ebertin's greatest and most truly original contribution was his research in the field of medical astrology and his addition of more psychological correlations . Ebertin worked with the "Anatomical Correspondences of the Zodiac Degrees" as presented in the "Organuhr der anatomischen Entsprechungen" of Fritz Brandau.
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Robert Fludd
Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus (17 January 1574 – 8 September 1637) was a prominent English Paracelsian physician. He is remembered as an astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist, and Rosicrucian apologist.
Fludd is best known for his compilations in occult philosophy. He had a celebrated exchange of views with Johannes Kepler concerning the scientific and hermetic approaches to knowledge.
He was born at Milgate House, Bearsted, Kent, the son of Sir Thomas Fludd, a high-ranking governmental official (Queen Elizabeth I's treasurer for war in Europe), and Member of Parliament. He entered St John's College, Oxford in 1591, graduating B.A. in 1597 and M.A. in 1598.
Between 1598 and 1604, Fludd studied medicine, chemistry and hermeticism on the European mainland. His itinerary is not known in detail. On his own account he spent a winter in the Pyrenees studying theurgy with the Jesuits.
On his return to England, Fludd entered Christ Church, Oxford. In 1605 he graduated M.B. and M.D. He then moved to London, settling in Fenchurch Street, and making repeated attempts to enter the College of Physicians. Fludd encountered problems with the College examiners, both because of his unconcealed contempt for traditional medical authorities, and because of his attitude. After at least six failures, he was admitted in 1609. Subsequently both his career and his standing in the College took a turn very much for the better. He was on good terms with Sir William Paddy. Fludd was one of the first to support in print the theory of the circulation of the blood of the College's William Harvey. To what extent Fludd may have actually influenced Harvey is still debated, in the context that Harvey's discovery is hard to date precisely. The term "circulation" was certainly ambiguous at that time.
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Romanian philosophy
Romanian philosophy is a name covering either a) the philosophy done in Romania or by Romanians, or b) an ethnic philosophy, which expresses at a high level the fundamental features of the Romanian spirituality, or which elevates to a philosophical level the Weltanschauung of the Romanian people, as deposited in language and folklore, traditions, architecture and other linguistic and cultural artifacts.
The discussion concerning the existence of a Romanian philosophy has known three stages.
Between the two World Wars, after the emergence of Greater Romania, Romanian national identity went through a crisis. Since it was not centered anymore on immediate political goals (national rights, independence, national unity etc.), the idea now had a more pronounced cultural character. Therefore, discussions of "national specificity" in historiography, literature and philosophy became very common. The first history of Romanian philosophy was published in 1922 by Marin Ştefănescu, proving that philosophical thinking in Romania had reached the level of self-reflexivity; in other words, it had become conscious of itself. The general conclusion of interbellum discussions, which involved almost every notable philosopher, was that there is a Romanian philosophy proper, with a distinct profile among other national philosophies. Constantin Noica, who became one of the most prominent Romanian philosophers, thought early on that Romanian philosophy is characterized by paganism, cosmicism (i.e. no acute separation of the world of the man from, transcendence) and determinism (or rather, "fatalism").
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Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (
/ˈrɒnəld ˈwɪlsən ˈreɪɡən/; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. Prior to that, he was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and a radio, film and television actor.
Born in Tampico, Illinois and raised in Dixon, Reagan was educated at Eureka College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. After his graduation, Reagan moved first to Iowa to work as a radio broadcaster and then in to Los Angeles in 1937 where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later television. Some of his most notable films include Knute Rockne, All American, Kings Row, and Bedtime for Bonzo. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and later as a spokesman for General Electric (GE); his start in politics occurred during his work for GE. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, his positions began shifting rightward in the late 1950s, and he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and general election in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.
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Sahl ibn Bishr
Sahl ibn Bishr al-Israili, often known as Zahel or Zael (c. 786–845 ?) was a Jewish astrologer, astronomer and mathematician from Tabaristan. He was the father of Ali ibn Sahl the famous scientist and physician, who became a convert to Islam.
Sahl is believed to be the first who translated the Almagest of Ptolemy into Arabic.
Sahl ibn Bishr wrote in the Greek astrological tradition. Sahl's first five books were preserved in the translation of John of Seville (Johannes Hispanus) (circa 1090 – circa 1150). See the English translation by Holden. The sixth book deals with three thematic topics regarding the influences on the world and its inhabitants was translated by Herman of Carinthia. The work contains divinations based on the movements of the planets and comets.
There are some books by Sahl ibn Bishr in Arabic such as:
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Sargon of Akkad
Sargon of Akkad, also known as Sargon the Great "the Great King" (Akkadian Šarru-kīnu, meaning "the true king" or "the king is legitimate"), was a Semitic Akkadian emperor famous for his conquest of the Sumerian city-states in the 23rd and 22nd centuries BC. The founder of the Dynasty of Akkad, Sargon reigned in the last quarter of the third millennium BC. He became a prominent member of the royal court of Kish, killing the king and usurping his throne before embarking on the quest to conquer Mesopotamia. He was originally referred to as Sargon I until records concerning an Assyrian king also named Sargon (now usually referred to as Sargon I) were unearthed.
Sargon's vast empire is thought to have included large parts of Mesopotamia, and included parts of modern-day Iran, Asia Minor and Syria. He ruled from a new, but as yet archaeologically unidentified capital, Akkad (Agade), which the Sumerian king list claims he built (or possibly renovated). He is sometimes regarded as the first person in recorded history to create a multiethnic, centrally ruled empire, although the Sumerians Lugal-anne-mundu and Lugal-zage-si also have a claim. His dynasty controlled Mesopotamia for around a century and a half.
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Shawn Carlson
Shawn Carlson (born 1960) is an American science educator who founded the Society for Amateur Scientists in 1994, which is dedicated to "Helping ordinary people do extraordinary science." In 2010, he founded the LabRats Science Education Program, to inspire students aged 11 to 18 to "love learning about science and technology." His students call him "Dr. Shawn"
He graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a BS in Applied Mathematics and Physics in 1981, and from University of California, Los Angeles with a MS in Physics in 1983, and with a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics in 1989. As a post doc Dr. Carlson worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Berkeley Automated Supernovae Search.
He wrote "The Amateur Scientist" column for Scientific American from 1995 to 2001. He has been a columnist for Make Magazine and The Humanist. His work has also appeared in American Scientist.
Dr. Carlson is currently the creative force behind the LabRats Science Education Program, the iDoScience research collaboration platform, and the Carlson Method™ of teaching science.
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Starhawk
Starhawk (born Miriam Simos on June 17, 1951) is an American writer and activist. She is well known as a theorist of Paganism, and is one of the foremost popular voices of ecofeminism. She is a columnist for Beliefnet.com and for On Faith, the Newsweek/Washington Post online forum on religion. Starhawk's book The Spiral Dance (1979) was one of the main inspirations behind the Neopagan movement. In 2012, she was listed in Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People.
Starhawk was born in 1951 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her father, Jack Simos, died when she was 5. Her mother, Bertha Claire Goldfarb Simos, was a professor of social work at UCLA. Both her parents were the children of Jewish immigrants from Russia.
Starhawk received a BA in Fine Arts from UCLA. In 1973, while she was a graduate student in film at UCLA, she won the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for her novel, A Weight of Gold, a story about Venice, California, where she then lived. She received an MA in Psychology, with a concentration in feminist therapy, from Antioch University West in 1982.
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Stephen Arroyo
Stephen Arroyo (born October 6, 1946 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American author and astrologer.
Arroyo has written seven books on psychologically oriented astrology which outline his theory that the individual’s experience of the Solar System’s impacts on their personal energy field, both psychological and physical. His works recast astrological concepts in psychological terms, and reject what he perceives as the fatalism and negativity of old-fashioned astrology. His books have now been translated into 20 languages.
Regarding his written works, the Library Journal stated: “The simplicity and clarity of his treatment of complex ideas is remarkable; it makes accessible even to the beginner a wealth of understanding.…giving meaningful psychological grounding to astrological interpretation.”[citation needed]
Arroyo has been guest speaker at events in the North America and Europe, and has taught astrology courses in the United States. He has been awarded the British Astrological Association Astrology Prize, the Fraternity of Canadian Astrologers’ International Sun Award, and the United Astrology Congress’s Regulus Award. He has an honors degree in literature from the University of California and a Masters Degree in Psychology. Previous occupations include marriage counseling, and the practice of a homeopathy and polarity therapy.
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Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. His key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation (or sometimes as Bekenstein–Hawking radiation).
He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009. Subsequently, he became research director at the university's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Hawking has a motor neurone disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition that has progressed over the years. He is now almost completely paralysed and communicates through a speech generating device. He has been married twice and has three children. Hawking has achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; these include A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times best-sellers list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.
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Tanya Luhrmann
Tanya Marie Luhrmann (born 1959) is an American psychological anthropologist best known for her studies of modern-day witches, charismatic Christians, and psychiatrists. She received her AB summa cum laude in Folklore and Mythology from Harvard-Radcliffe in 1981, working with Stanley Tambiah. She then studied Social Anthropology at Cambridge University, working with Jack Goody and Ernest Gellner. In 1986 she received her PhD for work on modern-day witches in England, later published as Persuasions of the Witch's Craft (1989). In this book, she described the ways in which magic and other esoteric techniques both serve emotional needs and come to seem reasonable through the experience of practice.
Her second research project looked at the situation of contemporary Parsis, a Zoroastrian community in India. The Parsi community enjoyed a privileged position under the British Raj; although by many standards, Parsis have continued to do quite well economically in post-colonial India, they have become politically marginal in comparison to their previous position, and many Parsis speak pessimistically about the future of their community. Luhrmann's book The Good Parsi (1996) explored the contradictions inherent in the social psychology of a post-colonial elite.
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Taryenyawagon
Taryenyawagon (Onondaga Taiñhiawa'geh) or "Holder of the Heavens" is the creator deity in Iroquois mythology.
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William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry has led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". Although he lived in London his entire life except for three years spent in Felpham he produced a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God", or "Human existence itself".
Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of both the Romantic movement and "Pre-Romantic", for its large appearance in the 18th century. Reverent of the Bible but hostile to the Church of England – indeed, to all forms of organised religion – Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American revolutions, as well as by such thinkers as Jakob Böhme and Emanuel Swedenborg. Despite these known influences, the singularity of Blake's work makes him difficult to classify. The 19th-century scholar William Rossetti characterised Blake as a "glorious luminary," and as "a man not forestalled by predecessors, nor to be classed with contemporaries, nor to be replaced by known or readily surmisable successors".
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William Lilly
William Lilly (11 May [O.S. 1 May] 1602 – 9 June 1681), was an English astrologer famed during his time. Lilly was particularly adept at interpreting the astrological charts drawn up for horary questions, as this was his speciality.
Lilly caused much controversy in 1652 for allegedly predicting the Great Fire of London some 14 years before it happened. For this reason many people[who?] believed that he might have started the fire, but there is no evidence to support these claims. He was tried for the offence[citation needed] in Parliament but was found to be innocent.
William Lilly was born in 1602 in Diseworth, Leicestershire, where his family were long-established yeomen. He received a basic classical education at the school of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, under John Brinsley; but makes a point of saying that his master never taught logic. At the age of seventeen, his father having fallen into poverty, he went to London and was employed in attendance on an elderly couple. His master, at his death in 1627, left him an annuity of £20; and, Lilly having soon afterwards married the widow, she, dying in 1633, left him property to the value of about £1000.
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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
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Wolfgang Pauli
Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (25 April 1900 – 15 December 1958) was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after being nominated by Albert Einstein, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "decisive contribution through his discovery of a new law of Nature, the exclusion principle or Pauli principle," involving spin theory, underpinning the structure of matter and the whole of chemistry.
Pauli was born in Vienna to a chemist Wolfgang Joseph Pauli (né Wolf Pascheles, 1869–1955) and his wife Bertha Camilla Schütz. His middle name was given in honor of his godfather, physicist Ernst Mach. Pauli's paternal grandparents were from prominent Jewish families of Prague; his great-grandfather was the Czech-Jewish publisher Wolf Pascheles. His father converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism shortly before his marriage in 1899. His mother, Bertha Schütz, was raised in her mother's Roman Catholic religion; her father was Jewish writer Friedrich Schütz. Pauli was raised as a Roman Catholic, although eventually he and his parents left the Church.
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Santos Bonacci The Ancient Theology Astrology Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 102:21
- Updated: 06 Feb 2013
Prisca Theologia (The Ancient Theology) Series 1/3, Astrology Part 1/2
http://wn.com/Santos_Bonacci_The_Ancient_Theology_Astrology_Part_1
Prisca Theologia (The Ancient Theology) Series 1/3, Astrology Part 1/2
Penn and Teller - Astrology (Full Episode)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 26:52
- Updated: 08 Feb 2013
Well this one is pretty obvious isn't it :) Enjoy!
http://wn.com/Penn_and_Teller_Astrology_Full_Episode
Well this one is pretty obvious isn't it :) Enjoy!
- published: 28 Oct 2011
- views: 171090
- author: CrystalEye736
Carl Sagan on Astrology
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:35
- Updated: 06 Feb 2013
From Cosmos, episode 3 "The Harmony of the Worlds".
http://wn.com/Carl_Sagan_on_Astrology
From Cosmos, episode 3 "The Harmony of the Worlds".
- published: 17 Nov 2006
- views: 388917
- author: undercoverkptic
Astrology Forecast for January 30, 2013
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:02
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
Beyond the pain of losses and the joy brought on by gains, There is a knowing in my soul that always will remain. It beckons me ever onward toward a higher plane, Where infinite serenity and Love forever reign. This week we can reach that still point within with fixed 3/4 Moon in Scorpio (Sun in Aquarius). From this place of stillness we can see the future! Freely step up, out and into a new space both internally and in the outer world. Time to re-invent yourself yikes!
http://wn.com/Astrology_Forecast_for_January_30,_2013
Beyond the pain of losses and the joy brought on by gains, There is a knowing in my soul that always will remain. It beckons me ever onward toward a higher plane, Where infinite serenity and Love forever reign. This week we can reach that still point within with fixed 3/4 Moon in Scorpio (Sun in Aquarius). From this place of stillness we can see the future! Freely step up, out and into a new space both internally and in the outer world. Time to re-invent yourself yikes!
- published: 31 Jan 2013
- views: 15551
- author: Tom Lescher
The Astrology of December 2012, Winter Solstice, Mayan Calendar, etc.,
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 38:43
- Updated: 03 Feb 2013
This is my big end of the Mayan Calendar video, sort of. December's vibes place the individual in the midst of a profoundly transformative field. After all the crisis and drama of recent years, the responsibility for bringing change fall squarely on the shoulders of individuals, who must, now, take responsibility for wrestling the world around them into more acceptable shape. This will be a more complicated process than you might think,because individuals themselves are the focus of profound and powerful transformative energies. People will be working toward a greater understanding of who they are and what they really want, even as they try to transform the world they find themselves in. The beginning of a lengthy and strenuous process. A more polished, written version of this analysis is now available on my blog. The link to my blog is on my channel page.
http://wn.com/The_Astrology_of_December_2012,_Winter_Solstice,_Mayan_Calendar,_etc,
This is my big end of the Mayan Calendar video, sort of. December's vibes place the individual in the midst of a profoundly transformative field. After all the crisis and drama of recent years, the responsibility for bringing change fall squarely on the shoulders of individuals, who must, now, take responsibility for wrestling the world around them into more acceptable shape. This will be a more complicated process than you might think,because individuals themselves are the focus of profound and powerful transformative energies. People will be working toward a greater understanding of who they are and what they really want, even as they try to transform the world they find themselves in. The beginning of a lengthy and strenuous process. A more polished, written version of this analysis is now available on my blog. The link to my blog is on my channel page.
- published: 20 Nov 2012
- views: 22563
- author: Carl Boudreau
The Astrology of November 2012 - for Everyone
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 43:14
- Updated: 31 Jan 2013
Another good news/bad news month. But it's also a test of our determination, our perceptions and our reactions. Depending on what you choose to focus on, it could seem all bad or all good. All of life is like that to some extent, but November is a special case. How we respond to November 2912 will have a major effect on the whole rest of our lives. However it affects you, though, November will be a very, very eventful month, full of final decisions and major turning points. An interesting runup to the 2012 chart. A technical note: I encountered an unusually high number of technical issues while preparing this video, especially with respect to sound. Please excuse any glitches I didn't catch.
http://wn.com/The_Astrology_of_November_2012_for_Everyone
Another good news/bad news month. But it's also a test of our determination, our perceptions and our reactions. Depending on what you choose to focus on, it could seem all bad or all good. All of life is like that to some extent, but November is a special case. How we respond to November 2912 will have a major effect on the whole rest of our lives. However it affects you, though, November will be a very, very eventful month, full of final decisions and major turning points. An interesting runup to the 2012 chart. A technical note: I encountered an unusually high number of technical issues while preparing this video, especially with respect to sound. Please excuse any glitches I didn't catch.
- published: 22 Oct 2012
- views: 19882
- author: Carl Boudreau
The Future of Astrology
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 57:51
- Updated: 23 Sep 2012
Astrologer Steven Forrest discusses the future of his profession at the NORWAC conference in May 2007
http://wn.com/The_Future_of_Astrology
Astrologer Steven Forrest discusses the future of his profession at the NORWAC conference in May 2007
- published: 18 Dec 2007
- views: 16381
- author: Kelly Lee Phipps
Vedic Nadi Astrology Not of Human Orgin
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:20
- Updated: 13 Sep 2012
www.AstroVed.com Visit http videos: www.youtube.com library: www.youtube.com Dr. Pillai's Egypt & Israel Trip. Take an unforgettable spiritual quest Nadi Astrology is a special type of Vedic astrology created by divinely inspired sages who gathered special insight to know about the future of certain souls and wrote them on palm leaves around thousands of years ago. Learn Vedic Astrology Online with self-paced course: www.astroved.com
http://wn.com/Vedic_Nadi_Astrology_Not_of_Human_Orgin
www.AstroVed.com Visit http videos: www.youtube.com library: www.youtube.com Dr. Pillai's Egypt & Israel Trip. Take an unforgettable spiritual quest Nadi Astrology is a special type of Vedic astrology created by divinely inspired sages who gathered special insight to know about the future of certain souls and wrote them on palm leaves around thousands of years ago. Learn Vedic Astrology Online with self-paced course: www.astroved.com
- published: 13 May 2007
- views: 150481
- author: DattatreyaSivaBaba
Astrology Debunked - Richard Dawkins in Enemies of Reason
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:01
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
Excerpt from Richard Dawkins program Enemies of Reason challenges the claims of Astrology, and exposes the ridiculous pretenses of its origin.
http://wn.com/Astrology_Debunked_Richard_Dawkins_in_Enemies_of_Reason
Excerpt from Richard Dawkins program Enemies of Reason challenges the claims of Astrology, and exposes the ridiculous pretenses of its origin.
- published: 23 Dec 2008
- views: 45350
- author: Brian Soto
Astrology Forecast for January 16, 2013
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:38
- Updated: 03 Feb 2013
"Now's the time to change, The way I live and love, Time to go within, And see I'm now old enough, To accept the Other as they are, And not project my stuff!" That Sun is bookin' outa' Capricorn this weekend along with Mercury and things are going to lighten up. Just try not to get too swept away with all the action and make rash moves/comments/actions. Take time to relax and enjoy each moment! Aloha.
http://wn.com/Astrology_Forecast_for_January_16,_2013
"Now's the time to change, The way I live and love, Time to go within, And see I'm now old enough, To accept the Other as they are, And not project my stuff!" That Sun is bookin' outa' Capricorn this weekend along with Mercury and things are going to lighten up. Just try not to get too swept away with all the action and make rash moves/comments/actions. Take time to relax and enjoy each moment! Aloha.
- published: 17 Jan 2013
- views: 16531
- author: Tom Lescher
Astrology Forecast for August 9, 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:51
- Updated: 03 Feb 2013
"In the deep dark passages of the night, I find my way into the light. For in those places my faults are revealed, and in finding their value I am truly healed." Indeed, this is a week where conflict can truly lead to resolution. One way or the other, it is decision time! No more putting off the "inevitable". Choose now or forever hold your peace (ooooooooo!)
http://wn.com/Astrology_Forecast_for_August_9,_2012
"In the deep dark passages of the night, I find my way into the light. For in those places my faults are revealed, and in finding their value I am truly healed." Indeed, this is a week where conflict can truly lead to resolution. One way or the other, it is decision time! No more putting off the "inevitable". Choose now or forever hold your peace (ooooooooo!)
- published: 09 Aug 2012
- views: 15519
- author: Tom Lescher
Carl Sagan on the pseudoscience of Astrology
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:03
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
Carl Sagan on the pseudoscience of Astrology
http://wn.com/Carl_Sagan_on_the_pseudoscience_of_Astrology
Carl Sagan on the pseudoscience of Astrology
- published: 17 Feb 2008
- views: 49191
- author: XXXSDESDEXXX
All About Virgo with astrologer Michele Knight
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:41
- Updated: 05 Feb 2013
All About Virgo with MIchele Knight. Astrology of Virgo and the secret meaning of Virgo the Virgin. What are Virgos like as lovers? How should you behave on a date with a Virgo? www.micheleknight.co.uk http
http://wn.com/All_About_Virgo_with_astrologer_Michele_Knight
All About Virgo with MIchele Knight. Astrology of Virgo and the secret meaning of Virgo the Virgin. What are Virgos like as lovers? How should you behave on a date with a Virgo? www.micheleknight.co.uk http
- published: 28 Oct 2011
- views: 24329
- author: Michele Knight
(Signs of Divorce) in Astrology (Horoscope Love Match)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:38
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
CLICK HERE- www.astrologykrs.com In astrology people think that doing their sun sign matches of their partner will be enough to see if they will live happily ever after. Some people even think that matching their Numerology love match birthday or name number will predict their love future; they are all wrong. Yes, in astrology it is possible to see a good & bad match for a couple, but it's not that easy, and when most people rely on junk astrology they end up in a divorce if they do not get lucky by chance. This is why some might say, "he, I didn't need a astrologer I have been with my wife for twenty five years." This is a clear indication of 'Luck By Chance'.
http://wn.com/Signs_of_Divorce_in_Astrology_Horoscope_Love_Match
CLICK HERE- www.astrologykrs.com In astrology people think that doing their sun sign matches of their partner will be enough to see if they will live happily ever after. Some people even think that matching their Numerology love match birthday or name number will predict their love future; they are all wrong. Yes, in astrology it is possible to see a good & bad match for a couple, but it's not that easy, and when most people rely on junk astrology they end up in a divorce if they do not get lucky by chance. This is why some might say, "he, I didn't need a astrologer I have been with my wife for twenty five years." This is a clear indication of 'Luck By Chance'.
- published: 28 Dec 2011
- views: 23496
- author: KRSchannel
Numerology Life Path 8 Astrology Secrets of the deep
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:28
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
CLICK HERE- www.astrologykrs.com Modern numerology often contains aspects of a variety of ancient cultures and teachers, including Babylonia, Pythagoras and his followers (Greece, 6th century BC), astrological philosophy from Hellenistic Alexandria, early Christian mysticism, early Gnostics, the Hebrew system of the Kabbalah, The Indian Vedas, the Chinese "Circle of the Dead", Egyptian "Book of the Masters of the Secret House" (Ritual of the Dead).[4] Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354--430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian views. However, that does not mean that Pythagoras had coined himself the system one calls numerology. Pythagoras had only paved the way to the observation of numbers as archetypes rather than mere numerals. In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state Church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day ...
http://wn.com/Numerology_Life_Path_8_Astrology_Secrets_of_the_deep
CLICK HERE- www.astrologykrs.com Modern numerology often contains aspects of a variety of ancient cultures and teachers, including Babylonia, Pythagoras and his followers (Greece, 6th century BC), astrological philosophy from Hellenistic Alexandria, early Christian mysticism, early Gnostics, the Hebrew system of the Kabbalah, The Indian Vedas, the Chinese "Circle of the Dead", Egyptian "Book of the Masters of the Secret House" (Ritual of the Dead).[4] Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354--430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian views. However, that does not mean that Pythagoras had coined himself the system one calls numerology. Pythagoras had only paved the way to the observation of numbers as archetypes rather than mere numerals. In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state Church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day ...
- published: 23 Dec 2011
- views: 25287
- author: KRSchannel
Astrology Debunked - Sagan, Dawkins, Nye, Randi, Tyson
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:10
- Updated: 05 Feb 2013
The best astrology debunking compilation on the web. Clips from Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, James Randi, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Help eradicate belief in astrology by sharing this video. Link: www.youtube.com Share on FaceBook for the benefit of all your friends who believe in astrology!
http://wn.com/Astrology_Debunked_Sagan,_Dawkins,_Nye,_Randi,_Tyson
The best astrology debunking compilation on the web. Clips from Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, James Randi, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Help eradicate belief in astrology by sharing this video. Link: www.youtube.com Share on FaceBook for the benefit of all your friends who believe in astrology!
- published: 01 Jul 2010
- views: 35765
- author: neotropic9
Planets that bring WEALTH in Astrology
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:14
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
www.astrologykrs.com
http://wn.com/Planets_that_bring_WEALTH_in_Astrology
Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins and James Randi thoroughly debunk Astrology
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:06
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
Stand up and speak out against pseudoscience: www.milkywaymusings.com Share this video via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter!
http://wn.com/Carl_Sagan,_Richard_Dawkins_and_James_Randi_thoroughly_debunk_Astrology
Stand up and speak out against pseudoscience: www.milkywaymusings.com Share this video via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter!
- published: 18 Jan 2011
- views: 34508
- author: Callum C. J. Sutherland
Virgo 2013 Horoscope Astrology Year Ahead Forecast with Kelley Rosano
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 24:39
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
www.kelleyrosano.com Schedule your astrology session and/or Coaching Session www.kelleyrosano.com and join our free newsletter kelleyrosano.com ; http www.kelleyrosano.com Thank you for Liking, Sharing and Subscribing! You Are Awesome! All Are One, Kelley www.kelleyrosano.com ~ Please allow the commercials to run it is no cost to you and it helps pay for the videos. Clicking on the commercials is a great too. Thank You for your continued support in bringing these video podcasts to YOU! You can download our podcasts in stereo and as mp3 files go here itunes.apple.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/Virgo_2013_Horoscope_Astrology_Year_Ahead_Forecast_with_Kelley_Rosano
www.kelleyrosano.com Schedule your astrology session and/or Coaching Session www.kelleyrosano.com and join our free newsletter kelleyrosano.com ; http www.kelleyrosano.com Thank you for Liking, Sharing and Subscribing! You Are Awesome! All Are One, Kelley www.kelleyrosano.com ~ Please allow the commercials to run it is no cost to you and it helps pay for the videos. Clicking on the commercials is a great too. Thank You for your continued support in bringing these video podcasts to YOU! You can download our podcasts in stereo and as mp3 files go here itunes.apple.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.kelleyrosano.com www.facebook.com
- published: 03 Dec 2012
- views: 15358
- author: Kelley Rosano
Astrology Forecast for May 30, 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 15:32
- Updated: 02 Feb 2013
"As I unite the dark and the light, I shine like a beacon in the night." This is a powerful week where we may need to stand firmly in our truth and consciously choose to let go of an old life to make way for the new. Not only the lunar eclipse but Venus transiting across the face of the Sun in Gemini, heralds an new relationship between the spiritual/physical, light/dark, masculine/feminine, conscious/unconscious worlds that can result in greater peace, love and unity than we have yet known. For a deeper explanation of how to unite the light/dark please refer to this month's forecast on my FB page or website www.newpa.info
http://wn.com/Astrology_Forecast_for_May_30,_2012
"As I unite the dark and the light, I shine like a beacon in the night." This is a powerful week where we may need to stand firmly in our truth and consciously choose to let go of an old life to make way for the new. Not only the lunar eclipse but Venus transiting across the face of the Sun in Gemini, heralds an new relationship between the spiritual/physical, light/dark, masculine/feminine, conscious/unconscious worlds that can result in greater peace, love and unity than we have yet known. For a deeper explanation of how to unite the light/dark please refer to this month's forecast on my FB page or website www.newpa.info
- published: 31 May 2012
- views: 19624
- author: Tom Lescher
Virgo Astrology January 2013 & Year Ahead
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:22
- Updated: 05 Feb 2013
Virgo Astrology, Monthly Horoscopes, Astrology Forecasts, Compatibility Reports, Love Horoscope, Career Horoscope and Tarot Guidance.
http://wn.com/Virgo_Astrology_January_2013_Year_Ahead
Virgo Astrology, Monthly Horoscopes, Astrology Forecasts, Compatibility Reports, Love Horoscope, Career Horoscope and Tarot Guidance.
- published: 11 Dec 2012
- views: 7888
- author: Tarot Anisha
Manly Hall - Value of Astrology in Self Analysis
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 82:27
- Updated: 06 Feb 2013
Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian-born author and mystic. He is perhaps most famous for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, which is widely regarded as his magnum opus, and which he published at the age of 27. He has been widely recognized as a leading scholar in the fields of religion, mythology, mysticism, and the occult. In 1934, Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society (PRS) in Los Angeles, California, dedicating it to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems. The PRS claims to be non-sectarian and entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control, and the Society's programs stress the need for the integration of philosophy, religion, and science into one system of instruction. The PRS Library, a public facility devoted to source materials in obscure fields, has many rare and scarce items now impossible to obtain elsewhere. In 1973 (47 years after writing The Secret Teachings of All Ages), Hall was recognized as a 33º Mason (the highest honor conferred by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite), at a ceremony held at PRS on December 8th, despite never being initiated into the physical craft. In his over 70-year career, Hall delivered approximately 8000 lectures in the United States and abroad, authored over 150 books and essays, and wrote countless magazine articles. www.manlyphall.org www.prs.org
http://wn.com/Manly_Hall_Value_of_Astrology_in_Self_Analysis
Manly Palmer Hall was a Canadian-born author and mystic. He is perhaps most famous for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, which is widely regarded as his magnum opus, and which he published at the age of 27. He has been widely recognized as a leading scholar in the fields of religion, mythology, mysticism, and the occult. In 1934, Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society (PRS) in Los Angeles, California, dedicating it to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems. The PRS claims to be non-sectarian and entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control, and the Society's programs stress the need for the integration of philosophy, religion, and science into one system of instruction. The PRS Library, a public facility devoted to source materials in obscure fields, has many rare and scarce items now impossible to obtain elsewhere. In 1973 (47 years after writing The Secret Teachings of All Ages), Hall was recognized as a 33º Mason (the highest honor conferred by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite), at a ceremony held at PRS on December 8th, despite never being initiated into the physical craft. In his over 70-year career, Hall delivered approximately 8000 lectures in the United States and abroad, authored over 150 books and essays, and wrote countless magazine articles. www.manlyphall.org www.prs.org
- published: 20 Jul 2011
- views: 24922
- author: MPHarchive
Numerology Life Path 9 Astrology Secrets of the deep
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:35
- Updated: 07 Feb 2013
CLICK HERE- www.astrologykrs.com Modern numerology often contains aspects of a variety of ancient cultures and teachers, including Babylonia, Pythagoras and his followers (Greece, 6th century BC), astrological philosophy from Hellenistic Alexandria, early Christian mysticism, early Gnostics, the Hebrew system of the Kabbalah, The Indian Vedas, the Chinese "Circle of the Dead", Egyptian "Book of the Masters of the Secret House" (Ritual of the Dead).[4] Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354--430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian views. However, that does not mean that Pythagoras had coined himself the system one calls numerology. Pythagoras had only paved the way to the observation of numbers as archetypes rather than mere numerals. In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state Church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day ...
http://wn.com/Numerology_Life_Path_9_Astrology_Secrets_of_the_deep
CLICK HERE- www.astrologykrs.com Modern numerology often contains aspects of a variety of ancient cultures and teachers, including Babylonia, Pythagoras and his followers (Greece, 6th century BC), astrological philosophy from Hellenistic Alexandria, early Christian mysticism, early Gnostics, the Hebrew system of the Kabbalah, The Indian Vedas, the Chinese "Circle of the Dead", Egyptian "Book of the Masters of the Secret House" (Ritual of the Dead).[4] Pythagoras and other philosophers of the time believed that because mathematical concepts were more "practical" (easier to regulate and classify) than physical ones, they had greater actuality. St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 354--430) wrote "Numbers are the Universal language offered by the deity to humans as confirmation of the truth." Similar to Pythagoras, he too believed that everything had numerical relationships and it was up to the mind to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships or have them revealed by divine grace. See Numerology and the Church Fathers for early Christian views. However, that does not mean that Pythagoras had coined himself the system one calls numerology. Pythagoras had only paved the way to the observation of numbers as archetypes rather than mere numerals. In 325 AD, following the First Council of Nicaea, departures from the beliefs of the state Church were classified as civil violations within the Roman Empire. Numerology had not found favor with the Christian authority of the day ...
- published: 24 Dec 2011
- views: 22738
- author: KRSchannel
photo: US Army / Chief Warrant Officer 4 Daniel McClinton
06 Feb 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. "The art of war is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin." Sun Tzu, "The Art of War," 4th Century BCE. During confirmation hearings for the next U.S. Defense Secretary, it was appalling to observe several senators haggling with Chuck Hagel over whether the surge during the disastrous U.S.-Iraqi preemptive war and military occupation was a success or not ... The U.S....(size: 6.2Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / Adam Moss
07 Feb 2013
Juror in Texas case wishes he heard more evidence. 12 minutes ago. Blizzard threatens New England; 1 to 2 feet feared. 17 minutes ago. UN. US air raids kill hundreds of Afghan children. 27 minutes ago. Ohio Amish set for sentencing in beard attacks. 44 minutes ago. Add-ons let semi-autos fire like military weapons. 1 hour ago. Deals!. View All. . . . . . ... St ... ....(size: 15.7Kb)
photo: USAF / Senior Airman Larry E. Reid Jr.
07 Feb 2013
Updated. February 7, 2013 12.29AM. WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has directed the Justice Department to give Congress’ intelligence committees access to classified legal advice providing the government’s rationale for drone strikes against American citizens working with al-Qaida abroad, a senior administration official and Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday ... The unclassified memo says it is legal for the government to kill U.S ... ....(size: 4.5Kb)
photo: AP / Mehr News Agency, Sajjad Safari
07 Feb 2013
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, strongly rejected proposals for direct talks with U.S. TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's supreme leader Thursday strongly rejected proposals for direct talks with United States, apparently quashing suggestions for a breakthrough dialogue on the nuclear standoff and potentially other issues ... Vice President Joe Biden ... "Talks will not solve any problems," Khamenei said in a statement ... Like ... ....(size: 3.5Kb)
photo: AP / World Vision
07 Feb 2013
Aid workers struggled to reach remote, tsunami-ravaged villages in the Solomon Islands on Thursday, as the death toll rose with more bodies found in wrecked homes and debris in the South Pacific island chain ... Around 100 homes across five villages were damaged or destroyed ... Three more bodies were found Thursday, but Herming said details of how those victims died were not immediately available ... - AP. ....(size: 1.9Kb)
The Times of India
09 Feb 2013
In order to propagate the knowledge of astrology we need to establish a Vedic university at the earliest, claimed Mahamandaleshwar Maheshwaranand at the closing ceremony of Jyotish Maha Kumbh, a 5-day International Astrological Conference which culminated amid the presence of galaxy of astrologers from different countries on Friday....(size: 2.0Kb)
The Examiner
09 Feb 2013
Have a comment you'd like to make, or a question you'd like to ask? Please don't hesitate, I'd love to hear from you! If you'd like to receive e-mail updates when Astrology today is published, please scroll down and click the subscribe button ... Pat Lantz is a counseling astrologer who uses astrology to help clients connect to their inner wisdom and gain fresh perspectives on their lives and the choices they've made....(size: 7.2Kb)
The Examiner
09 Feb 2013
For information on holistic astrology, please contact me at ... open your heart chakraWhat's love got to do with it? Astrology, science and swamis explore relationshipsAnimal odd couple demonstrates the power of the need for love ... Kimberly Carson, Klamath Falls Astrology Examiner ... She is a mom, massage therapist, reflexologist, astrologer, and holistic wellness consultant....(size: 8.8Kb)
The Los Angeles Times
09 Feb 2013
As with thousands of others in immigrant communities where the Lunar New Year is celebrated, Hoang plots her life partially on the predictions of an astrologer — weddings, business decisions, real estate transactions, when she might expect a grandchild. ... He learned the art of astrology, and the finer points of feng shui, from his father in Vietnam, trained by his own father before him....(size: 37.2Kb)
San Francisco Chronicle
09 Feb 2013
Chinese New Year Celebration. Ring in the Year of the Snake with lion dancers, Chinese astrology readings, tea samplings and music performances inside the store. Free. Sunday. Bloomingdales, 845 Market St., S.F. www.bloomingdales.com. Hello Kitty appearance. Hello Kitty will make her only West Coast stop on her world tour promoting Sanrio character T-shirts ... Free ... Sunday ... Wednesday ... ....(size: 1.6Kb)
The Times of India
08 Feb 2013
The science of astrology needs to be established at the global level, claimed Mahamadaleshwar Pilot Baba on Thursday. He was speaking at the Jyotish MahaKumbh, the international astrological conference being organised at the MahaKumbh ... Vinay Jha and Dr Vipin Pandey and Preeti from Jaipur presented their papers on traditional astrology and mental power respectively....(size: 2.1Kb)
The Examiner
08 Feb 2013
Have a comment you'd like to make, or a question you'd like to ask? Please don't hesitate, I'd love to hear from you! If you'd like to receive e-mail updates when the Astrology today is published, please scroll down and click the subscribe button ... Pat Lantz is a counseling astrologer who uses astrology to help clients connect to their inner wisdom and gain fresh perspectives on their lives and the choices they've made....(size: 6.4Kb)
The Daily Tribune
08 Feb 2013
Astrologers say this year’s snake is identified with the element of water — symbolizing fear — that sits on top of the fire element, representing joy and optimism ... “This is a disaster year... Hong Kong astrologer Chow Hon-ming said a disharmonious May would see an ongoing dispute between Japan and China possibly escalate into a “brief” war, as two “snakes” are going to clash according to his reading of the Chinese almanac ... AFP ....(size: 4.6Kb)
The Examiner
08 Feb 2013
In Part III of our history revising tale, both Forensic Science and Karmic Astrology take the stage to confirm the reality of Richard's remains ... Brad Kronen, Hollywood Astrology Examiner. Described as "Tarot Master" by The Huffington Post and as "Astrologer Extraordinaire," Brad Kronen has been using his talent as a professional astrologer and Tarot reader for the last 20 years ... SubscribeHollywood Astrology....(size: 9.2Kb)
The Examiner
08 Feb 2013
For information on holistic astrology, please contact me at ... Out of work farmers cultivate superhuman acrobats for the New Shanghai CircusWelcome, Year of the Rabbit...a kinder, gentler year, says Chinese Astrology Find out what your Zodiac sign needs to release at the close of 2012, Part 1 (Photos)We laugh to surviveAn amusing holiday memory; or, what real estate agents don't mention....(size: 10.2Kb)
North Jersey
08 Feb 2013
"In Chinese mythology, snakes were often associated with monsters, or with incarnations of monsters, so some political turbulence can be expected," said Taiwanese astrologer Tsai Shang-chi. ... But if many fear the snake, some astrologers and masters of feng shui, the Chinese art of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck, also see good signs for 2013.....(size: 11.3Kb)
Taipei Times
08 Feb 2013
“In Chinese mythology, snakes are often associated with monsters, or with incarnations of monsters, so some political turbulence can be expected,” Taiwanese astrologer Tsai Shang-chi (蔡上機) said ... However, if many fear the snake, some astrologers and masters of feng shui, the Chinese art of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck, also see good signs for this year....(size: 3.4Kb)
photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang
08 Feb 2013
"In Chinese mythology, snakes were often associated with monsters, or with incarnations of monsters, so some political turbulence can be expected," said Taiwanese astrologer Tsai Shang-chi ... But if many fear the snake, some astrologers and masters of feng shui, the Chinese art of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck, also see good signs for 2013....(size: 4.1Kb)
Not to be confused with Astronomy.
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Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to predict aspects of an individual's personality or life history based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.
Among Indo-European peoples, astrology has been dated to the third millennium BCE, with roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications.[1] Through most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition. It was accepted in political and academic contexts, and its concepts were built into other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine.[2] At the end of the 17th century, new scientific concepts in astronomy (such as heliocentrism) began to damage the credibility of astrology, and subsequent controlled studies failed to confirm its predictive value. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing. Astrology saw a popular revival in the 19th and 20th centuries as part of a general revival of spiritualism and later New Age philosophy, and through the influence of mass media such as newspaper horoscopes.[3]
While astrology may bear a superficial resemblance to science, it is a pseudoscience because it makes little attempt to develop solutions to its problems, shows no concern for the evaluation of competing theories, and is selective in considering confirmations and dis-confirmations.[4][5]
Contents |
Etymology[link]
The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia,[6] deriving from the Greek noun ἀστρολογία, 'account of the stars'. Astrologia later passed into meaning 'star-divination' with astronomia used for the scientific term.[7]
Historically, the word star referred also to planets and any luminous celestial object.[8] This is seen in Babylonian astrology where cuneiform depictions for the determinative MUL (star) present a symbol of stars alongside planetary and other stellar references to indicate deified objects which reside in the heavens.[a] The word planet (based on the Greek verb πλανάω planaō 'to wander/stray'), was introduced by the Greeks as a reference to how seven notable 'stars' were seen to 'wander' through others which remained static in their relationship to each other, with the distinction noted by the terms ἀστέρες ἀπλανεῖς asteres aplaneis ‘fixed stars’, and ἀστέρες πλανῆται asteres planetai, ‘wandering stars’.[9] Initially, texts such as Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos referred to the planets as 'the star of Saturn', 'the star of Jupiter', etc., rather than simply 'Saturn' or 'Jupiter',[10] but the names became simplified as the word planet assumed astronomical formality over time.[11]
The seven Classical planets are the permanent celestial bodies that move relative to the fixed stars and were visible to the ancients: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. This remained the standard definition of the word 'planet' until the Copernican revolution, when it was recognized that the Earth was a planet, and that the Sun and Moon were not equivalent to the others. Although the modern IAU definition of planet does not include the Sun or Moon, astrology retains this historical definition, with the addition of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.[b]
Core principles[link]
A central principle of astrology is integration within the cosmos.[12] The individual, Earth, and its environment are viewed as a single organism, all parts of which are correlated with each other.[13] Cycles of change that are observed in the heavens are therefore said to be reflective (not causative) of similar cycles of change observed on earth and within the individual.[14] This relationship is expressed in the Hermetic maxim "as above, so below; as below, so above", which postulates symmetry between the individual as a microcosm and the celestial environment as a macrocosm.[15] Accordingly, the natal horoscope depicts a stylized map of the universe at the time of birth, specifically focussed on the individual at its centre, with the Sun, Moon, and celestial bodies considered to be that individual’s personal planets or stars, which are uniquely relevant to that individual alone.[16]
At the heart of astrology is the metaphysical principle that mathematical relationships express qualities or ‘tones' of energy which manifest in numbers, visual angles, shapes and sounds – all connected within a pattern of proportion. Pythagoras first identified that the pitch of a musical note is in proportion to the length of the string that produces it, and that intervals between harmonious sound frequencies form simple numerical ratios.[17] In a theory known as the Harmony of the Spheres, Pythagoras proposed that the Sun, Moon and planets all emit their own unique hum based on their orbital revolution,[18] and that the quality of life on Earth reflects the tenor of celestial sounds which are physically imperceptible to the human ear.[19] Subsequently, Plato described astronomy and music as "twinned" studies of sensual recognition: astronomy for the eyes, music for the ears, and both requiring knowledge of numerical proportions.[20]
Later philosophers retained the close association between astronomy, optics, music and astrology, including Ptolemy, who wrote influential texts on all these topics.[21] Alkindi, in the 9th century, developed Ptolemy's ideas in De Aspectibus which explores many points of relevance to astrology and the use of planetary aspects.[22] In the 17th century, Kepler, also influenced by arguments in Ptolemy’s Optics and Harmonica,[23] compiled his Harmonices Mundi ('Harmony of the World'), which presented his own analysis of optical perceptions, geometrical shapes, musical consonances and planetary harmonies. Kepler regarded this text as the most important work of his career, and the fifth part, concerning the role of planetary harmony in Creation, the crown of it.[24] His premise was that, as an integral part of Universal Law, mathematical harmony is the key that binds all parts together: one theoretical proposition from his work introduced the minor planetary aspects into astrology; another introduced Kepler’s third law of planetary motion into astronomy.[25]
Another core principle is exemplified in an astrological maxim used by Francis Bacon in the 17th century: "The last rule (which has always been held by the wiser astrologers) is that there is no fatal necessity in the stars; but that they rather incline than compel".[26] Bacon advocated an emphasis on what he called "sane astrology" based on the study of subtle influences that "lie concealed in the depths of Physic".[27] His arguments reflect how astrology has always involved consideration of the psyche,[12] a more recent expression of which can be found in the writings of Carl Jung and the development of modern psychological astrology.
World traditions[link]
Although most cultural systems of astrology share common roots in ancient philosophies that influenced each other, many have unique methodologies which differ from those developed in the west. The most significant are Hindu astrology (also known as "Indian astrology" and in modern times referred to as "Vedic astrology") and Chinese astrology. Both have yielded great influence upon the world's cultural history.
Western astrology[link]
For more details on this topic, see Western astrology.
Western astrology is largely horoscopic, that is, it is a form of divination based on the construction of a horoscope for an exact moment, such as a person's birth.[28] It is founded on the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, which are analyzed by their aspects (angles) relative to one another. These are usually considered by their placement in houses (spatial divisions of the sky), and their movement through signs of the zodiac (spatial divisions of the ecliptic). Astrology's modern representation in western popular media is often reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only basic relationships of planets to the zodiac sign of the Sun at an individual's date of birth. The full analysis of the birth chart, as performed by an astrological practitioner, involves much more detailed consideration than this.
Indian and South/West Asian astrology[link]
For more details on this topic, see Hindu astrology.
Indian astrology uses a different commencement point to its 12-fold division of the zodiac than Western astrology but retains the same names and meanings for the signs and shares many of the same traditional principles. The two methods differ mainly in their focus on sidereal and tropical astrology. Hindu astrology relies on the sidereal zodiac in which the signs of the zodiac are aligned to the position of the corresponding constellations in the sky. In order to maintain this alignment, Hindu astrology uses an adjustment, called ayanamsa, to take into account the gradual precession of the vernal equinox (the gradual shift in the orientation of the Earth's axis of rotation). Western astrology does not make this adjustment. Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, which is aligned to the points where the Sun's position on the ecliptic creates the change of seasons.[29] The two systems differ on the point where they start the astrological year by about 23 degrees. In both systems, the astrological year starts with the spring or vernal equinox. However, in Hindu astrology the equinox occurs when the Sun is 6 degrees in Pisces. Western astrology places the equinox at the beginning of Aries, about 23 degrees after the equinox in the Hindu system.[30] Hindu astrology also includes several sub-systems of zodiac division, and employs the notion of bandhu: connections that, according to the Vedas link the outer and the inner worlds. This principle is similar to that found in Western and Chinese astrology, in considering the connection between the macrocosm and microcosm.
In India, there is a long-established and widespread belief in astrology. It is commonly used for daily life, particularly in matters concerning marriage and career, and makes extensive use of electional, horary and karmic astrology.[31][32] It remains considered a branch of Vedic science.[33][34] In 2001, Indian scientists and politicians debated and critiqued a proposal to use state money to fund research into astrology[35] resulting in vedic astrology being introduced into the curriculum of Indian universities.[36] In February 2011, the Bombay High Court reaffirmed astrology's standing in India when it dismissed a case which had challenged it status as a science.[37]
The astrology commonly used in Sri Lanka is largely based on Hindu astrology with some modifications to bring it in line with Buddhist teachings. Tibetan astrology also shares many of these components but has also been strongly influenced by Chinese culture and acknowledges a circle of animal signs similar to that of the Chinese zodiac (see below).
Chinese and East-Asian astrology[link]
For more details on this topic, see Chinese astrology and Chinese zodiac.
Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the three harmony, heaven, earth and man) and uses the principles of yin and yang and concepts that are not found in Western astrology, such as the wu xing teachings, the 10 Celestial stems, the 12 Earthly Branches, and shichen (時辰 a form of timekeeping used for religious purposes).
The system of Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD), during which all the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture - the Yin-Yang philosophy, theory of the 5 elements, Heaven and Earth, Confucian morality - were brought together to formalise the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[38]
The early use of Chinese astrology was mainly confined to political astrology, the observation of unusual phenomena, identification of portents and the selection of auspicious days for events and decisions.[39] The constellations of the Zodiac of western Asia and Europe were not used; instead the sky is divided into Three Enclosures (三垣 sān yuán), and Twenty-eight Mansions (二十八宿 èrshíbā xiù) in twelve Ci (十二次).[40] The Three Enclosures occupy the area close to the North Celestial Pole, where the stars are visible to northern hemisphere observers all year around. The Twenty-eight Mansions occupy the zodiacal band and find their equivalent in the 28 Lunar mansions of western astrology and the Nakshatra of Indian astrology. Though marked along the zodiac they are defined by the movement of the Moon in a lunar month rather than the Sun in a solar year. The Zhou Bi Suan Jing is an important astronomical text, dating from the Zhou dynasty but completed in the Han dynasty. It presents a complex lunisolar calendar whose focus reflects a long-standing division between mathematical astronomy "li fa" and portent astrology "tian wen".[41]
The zodiac of twelve animal signs is said to represent twelve different types of personality. This is not derived from divisions of the ecliptic as in Western astrology, but represents annual rather than monthly themes, being based on cycles of years, lunar months, and two-hour periods of the day (the shichen). The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, and the cycle proceeds through 11 other animals signs: the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.[42] A complex system of predicting fate and destiny based on one's birthday, birth season, and birth hours, known as Zi Wei Dou Shu (simplified Chinese: 紫微斗数; traditional Chinese: 紫微斗數; pinyin: zǐwēidǒushù) is also still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology.
The Korean zodiac is identical to the Chinese one. The Vietnamese zodiac is almost identical to Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Water Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit. The Japanese zodiac includes the Wild Boar instead of the Pig. The Thai zodiac includes a Naga in place of the Dragon and begins, not at Chinese New Year, but at either on the first day of fifth month in Thai lunar calendar, or during the Songkran festival (now celebrated every 13–15 April), depending on the purpose of the use.[43]
History[link]
Main article: History of astrology
Ancient world[link]
For more details on ancient astrology, see Babylonian astrology and Hellenistic astrology.
Astrology, before its differentiation from astronomy, began when humans started to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[44] Early evidence of this appears as markings on bones and cave walls, which show lunar cycles were being noted as early as 25,000 years ago. These were the first steps towards recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers, and towards organizing a communal calendar.[45] Agricultural needs were also met by increasing knowledge of constellations, whose appearances change with the seasons, allowing the rising of particular star-groups to herald annual floods or seasonal activities.[46] By the third millennium BCE, widespread civilizations had developed sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and are believed to have consciously oriented their temples to create alignment with the heliacal risings of the stars.[47]
There is scattered evidence to suggest that the oldest known astrological references are copies of texts made during this period. Two, from the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa (compiled in Babylon round 1700 BCE) are reported to have been made during the reign of king Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BCE).[48] Another, showing an early use of electional astrology, is ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash (ca. 2144-2124 BCE). This describes how the gods revealed to him in a dream the constellations that would be most favorable for the planned construction of a temple.[49] However, there is controversy about whether they were genuinely recorded at the time or merely ascribed to ancient rulers by posterity. The oldest undisputed evidence of the use of astrology as an integrated system of knowledge is therefore attributed to the records of the first dynasty of Mesopotamia (1950-1651 BCE).
Medieval Islamic world[link]
For more details on this topic, see Astrology in medieval Islam.
Astrology was taken up enthusiastically by Islamic scholars following the collapse of Alexandria to the Arabs in the 7th century, and the founding of the Abbasid empire in the 8th. The second Abbasid caliph, Al Mansur (754-775) founded the city of Baghdad to act as a centre of learning, and included in its design a library-translation centre known as Bayt al-Hikma ‘Storehouse of Wisdom’, which continued to receive development from his heirs and was to provide a major impetus for Arabic-Persian translations of Hellenistic astrological texts.[50] The early translators included Mashallah, who helped to elect the time for the foundation of Baghdad,[51] and Sahl ibn Bishr, (a.k.a. Zael), whose texts were directly influential upon later European astrologers such as Guido Bonatti in the 13th century, and William Lilly in the 17th century.[52] Knowledge of Arabic texts started to become imported into Europe during the Latin translations of the 12th century, the effect of which was to help initiate the European Renaissance.
Other important Arabic astrologers include Albumasur and Al Khwarizmi, the Persian mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, who is considered the father of algebra and the algorithm. The Arabs greatly increased the knowledge of astronomical cycles, and many of the star names that remain in common use today, such as Aldebaran, Altair, Betelgeuse, Rigel and Vega retain the legacy of their language.
20th and 21st century[link]
Early in the 20th century, Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, developed sophisticated theories concerning astrology.[53] These included concepts such as archetypes, the collective unconscious[54] and with the collaboration of pioneer theoretical physicist (and Nobel laureate), Wolfgang Pauli, synchronicity.[55] Astrologers like Dane Rudhyar[56] pursued a similar path to Jung and others such as Liz Greene[57][58] and Stephen Arroyo[59] were influenced by the Jungian model leading to the development of psychological astrology.[60]
In the middle of the 20th century, Alfred Witte and, following him, Reinhold Ebertin pioneered the use of midpoints, called midpoint astrology in horoscopic analysis.[61] A new kind of locational astrology began in 1957–58, when Donald Bradley published a hand-plotted geographic astrology map. In the 1970s, American astrologer Jim Lewis developed this technique under the name of Astro*Carto*Graphy.[62] The world map displays lines where the Sun, Moon, planets and other celestial points appear to be on any of the Four Angles (Rising, Setting, MC and IC) at a given moment in time. By comparing these lines with the horoscope, an astrologer attempts to identify the potential in any location.[63]
Effect on European culture[link]
For more details on this topic, see Cultural influence of astrology.
Belief in astrology holds firm today in many parts of the world: in one poll, 31% of Americans expressed belief in astrology and according to another study 39% considered it scientific.[64] According to Gallup opinion polls, around 25% of adults in the UK and US accept that astrology or the position of the stars and planets affect people’s lives, whilst other sources report the figure to be much higher.[65]
Along with tarot divination, astrology is one of the core studies of Western esotericism, and as such has influenced systems of magical belief not only among Western esotericists and Hermeticists, but also belief systems such as Wicca that have borrowed from or been influenced by the Western esoteric tradition. Tanya Luhrmann has observed that "all magicians know something about astrology," and refers to a table of correspondences in Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, organized by planet, as an example of the astrological lore studied by magicians.[66]
Astrology has had an influence on both language and literature. For example, influenza, from medieval Latin influentia 'influence', was so named because doctors once believed epidemics to be caused by unfavourable celestial influences.[67] The word disaster comes from the Greek δυσαστρία, disastria, derived from the negative prefix δυσ-, dis- and αστήρ, aster 'star', meaning not-starred or badly-starred.[68] The adjectives lunatic (Luna/Moon), mercurial (Mercury), venereal (Venus), martial (Mars), jovial (Jupiter/Jove), and saturnine (Saturn) are all used to describe personal qualities thought to be influenced by the astrological characteristics of predominating personal planets.
In literature many writers, such as Chaucer and Shakespeare, used astrological symbolism in description of their characters' motivations.[69] More recently, Michael Ward has proposed that C.S. Lewis imbued his Chronicles of Narnia with the characteristics and symbols of the seven planets that govern the heavens in medieval astrology.[70] In 1978, notes from Margaret Mitchell’s library revealed that she had based each character from her classic prize-winning novel, Gone with the Wind (1936), including the central star-crossed lovers, Scarlett (Aries) and Rhett (Leo), around an archetype of the zodiac.[71] In 2010, a detailed personal horoscope analyzed and illustrated by J.K. Rowling at the time she was writing her first Harry Potter novel, came up for sale. The auctioneer commented that Rowling “displays a detailed knowledge of Western astrology which was later to play an important part in her books".[72]
In music the best known example of astrology's influence is in the orchestral suite The Planets by British composer Gustav Holst, the framework of which is based on the astrological tones and signatures of the planets.[73]
In politics, in 1981, after John Hinckley's attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, first lady Nancy Reagan commissioned astrologer Joan Quigley to act as the secret White House astrologer. However, Quigley's role ended in 1988 when it became public through the memoirs of former chief of staff, Donald Regan.[74][75][76]
Modern scientific appraisal[link]
Contemporary science considers astrology a pseudoscience.[77] Criticisms include that astrology is conjectural and supplies no hypotheses, proves difficult to falsify, and describes natural events in terms of scientifically untestable supernatural causes.[78][not in citation given] It has also been suggested that much of the continued faith in astrology could be psychologically explained as a matter of cognitive bias.[79] Skeptics[who?] say that the practice of western astrologers allows them to avoid making verifiable predictions, and gives them the ability to attach significance to arbitrary and unrelated events, in a way that suits their purpose,[80] although science also provides methodologies to separate verifiable significance from arbitrary predictions in research experiments, as demonstrated by Gauquelin's research and Carlson's experiment.[citation needed]
Georges Charpak and Henri Broch "dismantled claims from parapsychology and astrology" in the book Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and other Pseudoscience [81] They noted that astrologers have only a small knowledge of astronomy and that they do not take into account basic features such as the precession of the equinoxes which would change the position of the star signs with time. [82]
Astrology has repeatedly failed to demonstrate its effectiveness in controlled studies, according to the American Humanist Society. The group characterised those who continue to have faith in astrology as doing so "in spite of the fact that there is no verified scientific basis for their beliefs, and indeed that there is strong evidence to the contrary."[83] One well-documented and referenced paper, for instance, which conducted a large scale scientific test, involving more than one hundred cognitive, behavioral, physical and other variables, found no support for astrological accuracy.[84]
Astrology has been criticized for failing to provide a physical mechanism that links the movements of celestial bodies to their purported effects on human behavior. In 1975, amid increasing popular interest in astrology, The Humanist magazine presented a rebuttal of astrology in a statement put together by Bart J. Bok, Lawrence E. Jerome, and Paul Kurtz.[85] The statement, entitled ‘Objections to Astrology’, was signed by 186 astronomers, physicists and leading scientists of the day. They said that there is no scientific foundation for the tenets of astrology and warned the public against accepting astrological advice without question. Their criticism focused on the fact that there was no mechanism whereby astrological effects might occur:
Astronomer Carl Sagan declined to sign the statement. For this reason, his words have been quoted by those who argue that astrology retains some scientific validity.[88] Sagan said he took this stance not because he thought astrology had any validity, but because he thought that the tone of the statement was authoritarian, and that dismissing astrology because there was no mechanism (while "certainly a relevant point") was not in itself convincing. In a letter published in a follow-up edition of The Humanist, Sagan confirmed that he would have been willing to sign such a statement had it described and refuted the principal tenets of astrological belief. This, he argued, would have been more persuasive and would have produced less controversy.[89]
In 1953, philosopher Theodor W. Adorno conducted a study of the astrology column of a Los Angeles newspaper as part of a project examining mass culture in capitalist society. Adorno concluded that astrology was a large-scale manifestation of systematic irrationalism, where individuals were subtly being led to believe that the author of the column was addressing them directly through the use of flattery and vague generalizations.[90]
In a lecture in 2001, Stephen Hawking stated "The reason most scientists don't believe in astrology is because it is not consistent with our theories that have been tested by experiment."[91] Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson asserted that "astrology was discredited 600 years ago with the birth of modern science. 'To teach it as though you are contributing to the fundamental knowledge of an informed electorate is astonishing in this, the 21st century'. Education should be about knowing how to think, 'And part of knowing how to think is knowing how the laws of nature shape the world around us. Without that knowledge, without that capacity to think, you can easily become a victim of people who seek to take advantage of you'". The founder of the Astrological Institute to which Tyson's criticism was directed responded "It's quite obvious that he hasn't studied the subject."[92]
Astrologers for their part prefer not to attempt to explain astrology,[93] and instead give it supernatural explanations such as divination or synchronicity.[94][95][96] Others have proposed conventional causal agents such as electro-magnetism within an intricate web of planetary fields and resonances in the solar system.[97][98] Scientists dismiss magnetism as an implausible explanation, since the magnetic field of a large but distant planet such as Jupiter is far smaller than that produced by ordinary household appliances when measured from earth.[99]
Carlson's experiment[link]
A different approach to testing astrology quantitatively uses blind experiment. The most renowned[100] of these is Shawn Carlson's double-blind chart matching tests in which he challenged 28 astrologers to match over 100 natal charts to psychological profiles generated by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) test. When Carlson's study was published in Nature in 1985, his conclusion was that predictions based on natal astrology were no better than chance, and that the testing "clearly refutes the astrological hypothesis".[101]
Gauquelin's research[link]
Main article: Mars effect
In 1955, Michel Gauquelin stated that although he had failed to find evidence to support such indicators as the zodiacal signs and planetary aspects in astrology, he had found positive correlations between the diurnal positions of some of the planets and success in professions (such as doctors, scientists, athletes, actors, writers, painters, etc.) which astrology traditionally associates with those planets.[102] The best-known of Gauquelin's findings is based on the positions of Mars in the natal charts of successful athletes and became known as the "Mars effect".[103] A study conducted by seven French scientists attempted to replicate the claim, but found no statistical evidence, and attributed the effect to selective bias on Gauquelin's part, accusing him of attempting to persuade them to add or delete names from their study.[104]
Theological criticism[link]
Some of the practices of astrology were contested on theological grounds by medieval Muslim astronomers such as Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) and Avicenna. They said that the methods of astrologers conflicted with orthodox religious views of Islamic scholars through the suggestion that the Will of God can be known and predicted in advance.[105] Such arguments mainly concerned "judicial branches" (such as Horary astrology), rather than the more "natural branches" such as Medical and Meteorological astrology, these being seen as part of the natural sciences of the time.
For example, Avicenna’s 'Refutation against astrology' Risāla fī ibṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm, argues against the practice of astrology while supporting the principle of planets acting as the agents of divine causation which express God's absolute power over creation. Avicenna considered that the movement of the planets influenced life on earth in a deterministic way, but argued against the capability of determining the exact influence of the stars.[106] In essence, Avicenna did not refute the essential dogma of astrology, but denied our ability to understand it to the extent that precise and fatalistic predictions could be made from it.[107]
Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (1292–1350), in his Miftah Dar al-SaCadah, also used physical arguments in astronomy to question the practice of judicial astrology.[108] He recognized that the stars are much larger than the planets, and argued:[109]
And if you astrologers answer that it is precisely because of this distance and smallness that their influences are negligible, then why is it that you claim a great influence for the smallest heavenly body, Mercury? Why is it that you have given an influence to al-Ra's and al-Dhanab, which are two imaginary points [ascending and descending nodes]?
Education[link]
Education in astrology is offered in a number of countries of the world:
United States[link]
In the United States, astrological education is offered at institutions such as Kepler College, a liberal arts college with an emphasis on astrology in Lynnwood, Washington, near Seattle, which opened in 2001[110] and awarded its first 8 Bachelor of Arts degrees in Astrological Studies in 2004.[111] However, unless they are completing a course of study, students attending Kepler College after March 9, 2010,[112] are not awarded degrees but certificates of completion of a course of study.[113] The degrees granted by Kepler are not recognized by national or regional accrediting agencies.[114] Other astrological organizations offer study programs and correspondence courses to certify astrologers.
United Kingdom[link]
In the United Kingdom, astrological education is offered at a number of institutions, some offering a diploma upon completion of the course and an examination. In addition, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David at Lampeter offers an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology.[115]
India[link]
In February, 2001, vedic astrology, Jyotish Vigyan, was introduced into the curriculum of Indian universities. Undergraduate (called "graduate" in India) post-graduate and research courses of study were established. "Beneficiaries of these courses would be students, teachers, professionals from modern streams like doctors, architects, marketing, financial, economic and political analysts, etc."[36] In April 2001 the Andhra Pradesh High Court declined to consider a petition to overturn the curriculum guideline on the ground that astrology was a pseudoscience, a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2004 which declined as a matter of law to interfere with educational policy. The court noted that astrology studies were optional and that courses in astrology were offered by institutions of higher education in other countries.[116]
Notes[link]
- ^ Babylonian planet names took a multitude of deity forms, most drawn from one basic deity association; for example, the basic association of Mars was with the war-god Nergal, for whom it expressed representation as the ‘the star of Nergal’.[117]
- ^ Some 'traditional astrologers' prefer to work only with the seven Classical planets, but most modern astrologers include reference to Uranus (discovered in 1781), Neptune (1846) and Pluto (1930).
It is therefore conventional for astrology texts to refer to ten planets, which does not include the Earth. These, with their astrological symbols, are as follows:
Sun | 
Moon | 
Mercury | 
Venus | 
Mars | 
Jupiter | 
Saturn | 
Uranus | 
Neptune | 
Pluto
References[link]
- ^ Koch-Westenholz (1995) Foreword and p.11.
- ^ Kassell and Ralley (2010) ‘Stars, spirits, signs: towards a history of astrology 1100–1800'; pp.67-69.
- ^ Campion (2009) pp.259-263, for the popularizing influence of newspaper astrology; pp. 239-249: for association with New Age philosophies.
- ^ Kelly, I.W., R. Culver and P.J. Loptson, 1989: Astrology and science: an examination of the evidence. In Cosmic perspectives: essays dedicated to the memory of M.K.V. Bappu, S.K. Biswas, D.C.V. Mallik, and C.V. Vishveshwara, eds., Cambridge University Press, 249 pp.
- ^ Asquith and Hacking (1978) 'Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience' by Paul R. Thagard. See also National Science Board (2006) Science and Engineering Indicators; ch 7: 'Science and Technology. Public Attitudes and Understanding: Belief in Pseudoscience'. National Science Foundation (2006); retrieved 19 April 2010:"About three-fourths of Americans hold at least one pseudoscientific belief; i.e., they believed in at least 1 of the 10 survey items[29]" ..." Those 10 items were extrasensory perception (ESP), that houses can be haunted, ghosts/that spirits of dead people can come back in certain places/situations, telepathy/communication between minds without using traditional senses, clairvoyance/the power of the mind to know the past and predict the future, astrology/that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives, that people can communicate mentally with someone who has died, witches, reincarnation/the rebirth of the soul in a new body after death, and channeling/allowing a "spirit-being" to temporarily assume control of a body."
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "astrology". Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=astrology. Retrieved 2011-12-06. "Differentiation between astrology and astronomy began late 1400s and by 17c. this word was limited to "reading influences of the stars and their effects on human destiny.""
- ^ "astrology, n.". Oxford English Dictionary (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989; online version September 2011. http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/12267. "In Old French and Middle English astronomie seems to be the earlier and general word, astrologie having been subseq. introduced for the ‘art’ or practical application of astronomy to mundane affairs, and thus gradually limited by 17th cent. to the reputed influences of the stars, unknown to science. Not in Shakespeare."
- ^ Soanes (2006) 'Star' sense 1. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ Merriam-Webster (1989) p.369. Online at wordsources.info, retrieved 5th August 2011.
- ^ Tetrabiblos (Robbins ed. 1940) I.4, p.35, footnote 3.
- ^ Pliny (77 AD) illustrated the irony of the use of the term 'planet' since the planetary cycles were known to be regular and predictable: "...the seven stars, which owing to their motion we call planets, though no stars wander less than they do". Pliny the Elder (77) II.iv, p.177.
- ^ a b Lewis (1994) p.58: "The Hermetic doctrine of the macrocosm and the microcosm provides the philosophical foundation of astrology and is a counterpart to the modern philosophy of holism. In this view, the psyche is not merely a whole unto itself but is also a part of the greater whole that reflects it".
- ^ Manilius (77) p.87-89 (II.64-67): “the entire universe is alive in mutual concord of its elements and is driven by the pulse of reason, since a single spirit dwells in all its parts and, speeding through all things, nourishes it like a living creature”.
- ^ Alkindi (9th cent.) is clarifying this point where he says in his text On the Stellar Rays, ch.4: “... we say that one thing acts with its elemental rays on another, but according to the exquisite truth it does not act but only the celestial harmony acts”.
- ^ Culpeper (1653) An Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the Human Virtues in the Body of Man, p.1: “As the heart is in the Microcosm, so is the Sun in the Macrocosm: for as the Sun gives life, light, and motion to the Creation, so doth the heart to the body; therefore it [the heart] is called Sol Corporis ['bodily sun'], as the Sun is called Cor Coeli ['heavenly heart'] because their operations are similar”.
- ^ McRitchie (2006) p.7: "Each individual, whether it is a person, thing, or an event, is a microcosm born at the center of its own macrocosmic universe. Each individual has its own planets, is identified with its native circumstances, and has a sensitive dependence on its initial configuration within the world of experience that is known and shared in common among other individuals. The circumstances of birth show what has begun.” This clarifies the philosophical principle found in many traditional works, such as Kepler (1619) Harmony of the World, pp.274-5, which describes the astrological influence at birth as a 'spiritual idea' in which the zodiac exists 'within' as well as 'without': “the vital faculty, lit in the heart and burning as long as life exists, is in a certain sense a zodiac since its essence consists in activity and in a flow of flame, as it were, the result is that the whole sensible shape of the zodiac flows into it ...When therefore, it begins to be what it is at the time when it constructs the harmonies, then most of all the sensible radiant harmony of the planets flows into it”.
- ^ Weiss and Taruskin (2008) p.3.
- ^ Pliny the Elder (77) pp.277-8, (II.xviii.xx): "…occasionally Pythagoras draws on the theory of music, and designates the distance between the Earth and the Moon as a whole tone, that between the Moon and Mercury as a semitone, .... the seven tones thus producing the so-called diapason, i.e. a universal harmony".
- ^ Houlding (2000) p.28: “The doctrine of the Pythagoreans was a combination of science and mysticism… Like Anaximenes they viewed the Universe as one integrated, living organism, surrounded by Divine Air (or more literally ‘Breath’), which permeates and animates the whole cosmos and filters through to individual creatures… By partaking of the core essence of the Universe, the individual is said to act as a microcosm in which all the laws in the macrocosm of the Universe are at work”.
- ^ Davis (1901) p.252. Plato’s Republic VII.XII reads: “As the eyes, said I, seem formed for studying astronomy, so do the ears seem formed for harmonious motions: and these seem to be twin sciences to one another, as also the Pythagoreans say”.
- ^ Smith (1996) p.2.
- ^ Hackett (1997) p.245 and Smith (1996) p.56.
- ^ An English translation of the Harmonica was recently published by Andrew Barker, in his Greek Musical Writings vol. II (Cambridge University Press, 2004). The work was also discussed by James Frederick Mountford in his article ‘The Harmonics of Ptolemy and the Lacuna in II, 14’ (Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 57. 1926; pp.71-95). Mountford refers to Ptolemy’s Harmonica as "the most scientific and best arranged treatise on the theory of musical scales which we possess in Greek".
- ^ Kepler (1619) 'Introduction', p.xix. “Kepler did not ascribe any direct physical influence to the celestial bodies but supposed the astrological effects to be the result of instinctive responses of individual souls to the harmonies of certain configurations or aspects. A soul was also ascribed to the Earth itself, whose response to the aspects explained their influence on the weather”. In his Tertius Interveniens, 1610, Kepler defined the horoscope as the celestial imprint imparted at birth: Ch,7: "When a human being's life is first ignited, when he now has his own life, and can no longer remain in the womb - then he receives a character and an imprint of all the celestial configurations (or the images of the rays intersecting on earth), and retains them unto his grave". See translated excerpts by Dr. Kenneth G. Negus on Cura. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ Kepler (1619) Kepler's Third Law used to be known as the harmonic law. It captures the relationship between the distance of planets from the Sun, and their orbital periods. "The square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the mean distance from the Sun ".[1] See also Gerald James Holton, Stephen G. Brush (2001). Physics, the Human Adventure. Rutgers University Press. p. 45. ISBN 0-8135-2908-5. http://books.google.com/?id=czaGZzR0XOUC&pg=PA45&dq=Kepler+%22harmonic+law%22.
- ^ Bacon (1623) De Augmentis, p.351. The maxim that the stars impel but do not compel was used by Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century, "following the same line of argument as St Augustine and others before him" (A history of magic by Richard Cavendish; p.66., Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977).
- ^ Bacon (1623) De Augmentis, p.351.
- ^ Soanes (2006) 'Astrology' "The study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world". Retrieved 16 July 2011. Also Weiner (1973) 'Astrology' by David Pingree. "...the study of the impact of the celestial bodies". Retrieved 2nd December 2009.
- ^ James R. Lewis, 2003. The Astrology Book: the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences. Visible Ink Press. Online at Google Books.
- ^ James T. Braha, 1986. "Ancient Hindu astrology for the modern western astrologer". Hermetician Press.
- ^ Kaufman, Michael T. (1998-12-23). "BV Raman Dies". New York Times, December 23, 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/23/world/bangalore-venkata-raman-indian-astrologer-dies-at-86.html. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ Dipankar Das, May 1996. "Fame and Fortune". http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/predictive-sciences/astrology.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ "In countries such as India, where only a small intellectual elite has been trained in Western physics, astrology manages to retain here and there its position among the sciences." David Pingree and Robert Gilbert, "Astrology; Astrology In India; Astrology in modern times". Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008
- ^ Mohan Rao, Female foeticide: where do we go? Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Oct-Dec2001-9(4)[2]
- ^ "Indian Astrology vs Indian Science". Bbc.co.uk. 2001-05-31. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/sci_tech/highlights/010531_vedic.shtml. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ a b "Guidelines for Setting up Departments of Vedic Astrology in Universities Under the Purview of University Grants Commission". Government of India, Department of Education. http://www.education.nic.in/circulars/astrologycurriculum.htm. Retrieved March 26, 2011. "There is an urgent need to rejuvenate the science of Vedic Astrology in India, to allow this scientific knowledge to reach to the society at large and to provide opportunities to get this important science even exported to the world,"
- ^ 'Astrology is a science: Bombay HC', The Times of India, 3 February 2011
- ^ Sun and Kistemaker (1997) pp.3-4.
- ^ Sun and Kistemaker (1997) pp.22, 85, 176.
- ^ F. Richard Stephenson, "Chinese Roots of Modern Astronomy", New Scientist, 26 June 1980. See also 二十八宿的形成与演变
- ^ Cullen, Christopher. Astronomy and mathematics in ancient China: the Zhou bi suan jing". Cambridge University Press. 1996. pages 2-6.
- ^ Theodora Lau, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, pp2-8, 30-5, 60-4, 88-94, 118-24, 148-53, 178-84, 208-13, 238-44, 270-78, 306-12, 338-44, Souvenir Press, New York, 2005
- ^ "การเปลี่ยนวันใหม่ การนับวัน ทางโหราศาสตร์ไทย การเปลี่ยนปีนักษัตร โหราศาสตร์ ดูดวง ทำนายทายทัก". http://www.myhora.com/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C-004.aspx.
- ^ Campion (2008) pp.2-3.
- ^ Marshack (1972) p.81ff.
- ^ Hesiod (c. 8th cent. BCE). Hesiod’s poem Works and Days shows how the heliacal rising of constellations were used as a calendar for agricultural events, which started to acquire astrological associations, e.g.: “Fifty days after the solstice, when the season of wearisome heat is come to an end, is the right time to go sailing. Then you will not wreck your ship, nor will the sea destroy the sailors, unless Poseidon the Earth-Shaker be set upon it, or Zeus, the king of the deathless gods” (II. 663-677).
- ^ Kelley and Milone (2005) p.268.
- ^ Two texts which refer to the 'omens of Sargon' are reported in E. F. Weidner, ‘Historiches Material in der Babyonischen Omina-Literatur’ Altorientalische Studien, ed. Bruno Meissner, (Leipzig, 1928-9), v. 231 and 236.
- ^ From scroll A of the ruler Gudea of Lagash, I 17 – VI 13. O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Bd. 2, 1-3. Gütersloh, 1986-1991. Also quoted in A. Falkenstein, ‘Wahrsagung in der sumerischen Überlieferung’, La divination en Mésopotamie ancienne et dans les régions voisines. Paris, 1966.
- ^ Houlding (2010) Ch. 8: 'The medieval development of Hellenistic principles concerning aspectual applications and orbs'; pp.12-13.
- ^ Albiruni, Chronology (11th c.) Ch.VIII, ‘On the days of the Greek calendar’, re. 23 Tammûz; Sachau.
- ^ Houlding (2010) Ch. 6: 'Historical sources and traditional approaches'; pp.2-7.
- ^ Jung, Carl G. Letters 1906–1950, ed. Gerhard Adler, et al. (Princeton University Press: Bollingen, 1992), Letter from Jung to Freud, 12 June 1911. ISBN 978-0-691-09895-1 “I made horoscopic calculations in order to find a clue to the core of psychological truth.”
- ^ Campion (2009) p.251–256: “At the same time, in Switzerland, the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) was developing sophisticated theories concerning astrology...”
- ^ Gieser, Suzanne. The Innermost Kernel, Depth Psychology and Quantum Physics. Wolfgang Pauli’s Dialogue with C.G.Jung, (Springer, Berlin, 2005) p.21 ISBN 3-540-20856-9
- ^ Campion, Nicholas. "Prophecy, Cosmology and the New Age Movement. The Extent and Nature of Contemporary Belief in Astrology."( Bath Spa University College, 2003) via Campion, Nicholas, History of Western Astrology, (Continuum Books, London & New York, 2009) p.248 p.256 ISBN 978-1-84725-224-1
- ^ Holden, James, A History of Horoscopic Astrology: From the Babylonian Period to the Modern Age, (AFA 1996) p.202 ISBN 0-86690-463-8
- ^ Campion (2009) p.258: "Jungian Analyst, Liz Greene."
- ^ Hand, Robert, Horoscope Symbols (Para Research 1981) p.349 ISBN 0-914918-16-8
- ^ Hyde, Maggie. Jung and Astrology. (Aquarian/Harper Collins, 1992) p.105 ISBN 1-85538-115-X http://www.skyscript.co.uk/synchronicity.html
- ^ Harding, M & Harvey, C, Working with Astrology, The Psychology of Midpoints, Harmonics and Astro*Carto*Graphy, (Penguin Arkana 1990) (3rd edition pp.8–13) ISBN 1-873948-03-4
- ^ Davis, Martin, From Here to There, An Astrologer’s Guide to Astromapping, (Wessex Astrologer, England, 2008) Ch1. History, p.2 ISBN 978-1-902405-27-8
- ^ Lewis, Jim & Irving, Ken, The Psychology of Astro*Carto*Graphy, (Penguin Arkana 1997) ISBN 1-357-91864-2
- ^ Humphrey Taylor. "The Religious and Other Beliefs of Americans 2003". http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=359. Retrieved 2007-01-05. Also see "Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding". National Science Foundation. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm#c7s2l3. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ Gallup (2005): Paranormal Beliefs by Linda Lyons, retrieved 20 July 2011. For the view that belief in astrology could be much higher than Gallup reports see Campion (1997), ‘British Public Perceptions of Astrology: An Approach from the Sociology of Knowledge’ by John Bauer and Martin Durant, which reports a figure of 73%.
- ^ Luhrmann, Tanya (1991). Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=influenza. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ Ζωλότας Ξενοφών. "Ελληνικές λέξεις στην αγγλική". http://www.xhmikos.gr/ZOLWTAS-ELLHNIKA-AGGLIKA.pdf. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ For discussions of Chaucer's astrological references see A. Kitson (1996). "Astrology and English literature". Contemporary Review, October 1996. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_n1569_v269/ai_18920172. Retrieved 2006-07-17. M. Allen, J.H. Fisher. "Essential Chaucer: Science, including astrology". University of Texas at San Antonio. http://colfa.utsa.edu/chaucer/ec22.html. Retrieved 2006-07-17. A.B.P. Mattar et al.. "Astronomy and Astrology in the Works of Chaucer". University of Singapore. http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/astronomy_and_astrology_in_the_works_of_chaucer.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-17. For discussions of Shakespeare's astrological references see P. Brown. "Shakespeare, Astrology, and Alchemy: A Critical and Historical Perspective". The Mountain Astrologer, February/March 2004. http://www.astrofuturetrends.com/id19.html. F. Piechoski. "Shakespeare's Astrology". http://starcats.com/anima/shakespeare.html.
- ^ Alastair Jamieson (2008-11-30). "Secret theme behind Narnia Chronicles is based upon the stars, says new research". The Telegraph, London. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/3536716/Secret-theme-behind-Narnia-Chronicles-is-based-upon-the-stars-says-new-research.html. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ Spencer, Neil. Stargazers? But of course. The Observer. (12 November 2000)[3] "Gone With the Wind, is a thinly disguised astrological allegory. Margaret Mitchell based the characters of her torrid epic on the zodiac, leaving a blatant trail of clues which were only picked up in 1978 when US astrologer Darrell Martinie was shown photocopies of notes from Mitchell's library."
- ^ "Rare JK Rowling work on the market for £25,000". The Scotsman, Edinburgh. 30 July 2010. http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Rare-JK-Rowling-work-on.6449408.jp. Robert Currey. "Astrology and J K Rowling". www.astrology.co.uk. http://www.astrology.co.uk/news/jkrowlingastrology.htm. Retrieved 3 August 2011. Paul Fraser (26 May 2010). "An incredibly rare unpublished work by J.K.Rowling". Paul Fraser Collectibles. http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/section.asp?catid=78&docid=1888.
- ^ Campion (2009) pp.244–245.
- ^ Regan, Donald T., (1988) For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York ISBN 0-15-163966-3
- ^ Quigley, Joan (1990), What does Joan say? My Seven Years as White House Astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan, Birch Lane Press, New York ISBN 1-55972-032-8
- ^ Gorney, Cynthia (May 11, 1988) The Reagan Chart Watch; Astrologer Joan Quigley, Eye on the Cosmos, Washington Post [4]
- ^ Richard Dawkins (31 December 1995). "The Real Romance in the Stars". London: The Independent, December 1995. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/the-real-romance-in-the-stars-1527970.html. . See also "Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic's Resource List". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/pseudobib.html.
- ^ Hartmann, P; Reuter M, Nyborga H (May 2006). "The relationship between date of birth and individual differences in personality and general intelligence: A large-scale study". Personality and Individual Differences 40 (7): 1349–1362. DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.017.
- ^ Eysenck, H.J., and Nias, D.K.B. (1982) pp.42-48.
- ^ About.com: Is Astrology a Pseudoscience? Examining the Basis and Nature of Astrology
- ^ Giomataris, Ioannis. "Nature Obituary Georges Charpak (1924–2010)". Nature. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v467/n7319/full/4671048a.html. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- ^ Charpak, Georges; Holland, Henri Broch ; translated by Bart K. (2004). Debunked! : ESP, telekinesis, and other pseudoscience. Baltimore [u.a.9: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. p. 6,7. ISBN 0801878675. http://books.google.ie/books?id=DpnWcMzeh8oC&q=astrology#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Bart Bok, Paul Kurtz and Lawrence Jerome, "Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186 Leading Scientists" in The Humanist September/October, 1975.
- ^ Is Astrology relevant to consciousness and Psi?
- ^ The Humanist, volume 35, no.5 (September/October 1975); pp. 4-6. The statement is reproduced in 'The Strange Case of Astrology' by Paul Feyerabend, published in Grim (1990) pp.19-23.
- ^ "Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186 Leading Scientists". The Humanist, September/October 1975. Archived from the original on 2009-03-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20090318140638/http://www.americanhumanist.org/about/astrology.html.
- ^ Bok, Bart J.; Lawrence E. Jerome, Paul Kurtz (1982). "Objections to Astrology: A Statement by 186 Leading Scientists". In Patrick Grim. Philosophy of Science and the Occult. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 14–18. ISBN 0-87395-572-2.
- ^ See for example Das (2009) Introduction, p.xvii.
- ^ The Humanist, volume 36, no.5 (1976).
- ^ http://cablegram.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/5639-the_stars_down_to.pdf
- ^ "British Physicist Debunks Astrology in Indian Lecture". Associated Press. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/63/story_6346_1.html.
- ^ "Ariz. Astrology School Accredited". The Washington Post. 2001-08-27. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010827/aponline135357_000.htm.
- ^ M. Harding. "Prejudice in Astrological Research". Correlation, Vol 19(1). http://www.astrozero.co.uk/astroscience/harding.htm.
- ^ Jung, C.G., (1952), Synchronicity - An Acausal Connecting Principle (London: RKP English edition, 1972), p.36. "synchronicity ...(is)...a coincidence in time of two or more casually unrelated events which have the same or similar meaning, in contrast to 'synchronism', which simply means the simultaneous occurrence of two events".
- ^ Maggie Hyde, Jung and Astrology; p.24–26; 121ff. (London: The Aquarian Press, 1992). "As above, so below. Early in his studies, Jung came across the ancient macrocosm-microcosm belief with its enduring theme of the organic unity of all things"; p.121.
- ^ Cornelius (2003). Cornelius’s thesis is - although divination is rarely addressed by astrologers, it is an obvious descriptive tag "despite all appearances of objectivity and natural law. It is divination despite the fact that aspects of symbolism can be approached through scientific method, and despite the possibility that some factors in horoscopy can arguably be validated by the appeal to science." ('Introduction', p.xxii).
- ^ Dr. P. Seymour, Astrology: The Evidence of Science. Penguin Group (London, 1988) ISBN 0-14-019226-3
The Scientific Proof of Astrology. A scientific investigation into how the stars influence human life.[5] Quantum, Foulsham (Slough 1997) ISBN 0-572-02906-3 - ^ Frank McGillion. "The Pineal Gland and the Ancient Art of Iatromathematica". http://www.astrology-research.net/researchlibrary/Iatr/pineal.htm.
- ^ "Sunday Times Article on Percy Seymour's book "Scientific Proof of Astrology"". Astrologer.com. 2004-05-16. http://www.astrologer.com/tests/seymour.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ Muller, Richard (2010). "Web site of Richard A. Muller, Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California at Berkeley,". http://muller.lbl.gov/homepage.html. Retrieved 2011-08-02. My former student Shawn Carlson published in Nature magazine the definitive scientific test of Astrology.
Maddox, Sir John (1995). "John Maddox, editor of the science journal Nature, commenting on Carlson's test". http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fqwVx-Bt9BMJ:www.randi.org/encyclopedia/astrology.html+maddox+perfectly+convincing+and+lasting+demonstration&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&source=www.google.com. Retrieved 2011-08-02. " ... a perfectly convincing and lasting demonstration." - ^ Carlson, Shawn (1985). "A double-blind test of astrology". Nature 318 (6045): 419–425. Bibcode 1985Natur.318..419C. DOI:10.1038/318419a0. http://muller.lbl.gov/papers/Astrology-Carlson.pdf.
- ^ a b Gauquelin, Michel (1955). L'influence des astres : étude critique et expérimentale. Paris: Éditions du Dauphin.
- ^ Gauquelin, Michel (Fall 1988). "Is There Really a Mars Effect?". Above & Below Journal of Astrological Studies (11): 4–7. http://www.theoryofastrology.com/gauquelin/mars_effect.htm.
- ^ Benski, Claude, et al., The "Mars Effect" (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1996).
- ^ Saliba, George (1994b). A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam. New York University Press. pp. 60 & 67–69. ISBN 0-8147-8023-7.
- ^ Catarina Belo, Catarina Carriço Marques de Moura Belo, Chance and determinism in Avicenna and Averroës, p.228. Brill, 2007. ISBN 90-04-15587-2.
- ^ George Saliba, Avicenna: 'viii. Mathematics and Physical Sciences'. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, 2011, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avicenna-viii
- ^ Livingston, John W. (1971). "Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah: A Fourteenth Century Defense against Astrological Divination and Alchemical Transmutation". Journal of the American Oriental Society 91 (1): 96–103. DOI:10.2307/600445. JSTOR 600445.
- ^ Livingston, John W. (1971). "Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah: A Fourteenth Century Defense against Astrological Divination and Alchemical Transmutation". Journal of the American Oriental Society 91 (1): 96–103 [99]. DOI:10.2307/600445. JSTOR 600445.
- ^ McClure, Robert (July 23, 2001). "Astrology school sets off controversy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/32348_astrology23.shtml. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Kepler College First Graduation, October 10, 2004". StarIQ.Com. http://www.stariq.com/pagetemplate/article.asp?PageID=5789. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Degree-Granting Authorization". Kepler College. http://www.kepler.edu/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17:kepler-college-authorization&catid=38:about-kepler-college&Itemid=153. Retrieved March 26, 2011. "Kepler College Authorization Degree-Granting Authorization Kepler College is authorized by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board and through March 9, 2010, the College met the requirements and minimum standards established for degree-granting institutions under the Degree Authorization Act. Students attending the college between March 9, 2000 and March 9, 2010 (and extended to March 9, 2012 to include students completing the teach-out of their degrees) earned Washington State authorized degrees in: Associate of Arts Bachelor of Arts Master of Arts in: Eastern and Western Traditions The History, Philosophy and Transmission of Astrology"
- ^ "Certificate Program Information". Kepler College. http://www.kepler.edu/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=100&Itemid=212. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Was your degree program accredited?". Kepler College. http://www.kepler.edu/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:are-you-accredited&catid=7:general-information&Itemid=121. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ "MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology". Trinity Saint David, The University of Wales. http://www.tsd.ac.uk/en/Sophia. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "Introduction of Vedic astrology courses in varsities upheld." The Hindu, May 06, 2004
- ^ Brown (2000) pp.63-72.
- Alkindi, c.9th cent. De Radiis Stellicis (On the Stellar Rays), translated by Robert Zoller. London: New Library, 2004. (3rd digital ed.)
- Asquith, Peter, and Hacking, Ian., 1978. Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, vol. 1. Philosophy of Science Association. ISBN 978-0-917586-05-7.
- Brown, David, 2000. Mesopotamian planetary astronomy-astrology. Cuneiform Monographs 18. Groningen: Styx Publications. ISBN 90-5693-036-2.
- Campion, Nicholas, (ed.) 1997. Culture and Cosmos. Sophia Centre Press. Vol. 1, no. 1. ISSN 13686534.
- Campion, Nicholas, 2008. A History of Western Astrology, Vol. 1, The Ancient World (first published as The Dawn of Astrology: a Cultural History of Western Astrology. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.
- Campion, Nicholas, 2009. A History of Western Astrology, Vol. 2, The Medieval and Modern Worlds. London: Continuum. ISBN 978-1-4411-8129-9.
- Cornelius, Geoffrey, 2003. The Moment of Astrology: Origins in Divination. Bournemouth: Wessex. (Originally published by Penguin Arkana, 1994). ISBN 1-902405-11-0.
- Culpeper, Nicholas, 1652. 'An Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the Human Virtues in the Body of Man’ transcribed and annotated by D. Houlding. Skyscript, 2009. Originally published in Culpeper's Complete Herbal (English Physician). London: Peter Cole, 1652.
- Davis, Henry, 1901. The Republic The Statesman of Plato. London: M. W. Dunne 1901; Nabu Press reprint, 2010. ISBN 978-1-146-97972-6.
- Evans, James, and Berggren, J. Lennart, 2006. Geminos's introduction to the phenomena. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12339-4.
- Eysenck, H.J., and Nias, D.K.B., 1982 Astrology: Science or Superstition? Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-022397-5.
- Eysenck, H.J., 1986 Astrological Journal 'Critique of 'A double-blind test of astrology'; vol xviii (3), April 1986.
- Hackett, Jeremiah, 1997. Roger Bacon and the sciences: commemorative essays. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10015-2.
- Hesiod (c. 8th cent. BCE) . Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica translated by Evelyn-White, Hugh G., 1914. Loeb classical library; revised edition. Cambridge: Harvard Press, 1964. ISBN 978-0-674-99063-0.
- Houlding, Deborah, 2000. The Traditional Astrologer. London: Ascella. Issue 19 (January 2000). ISSN 13694826.
- Houlding, Deborah, 2010. Essays on the history of western astrology. Nottingham: STA. ISBN 1-899503-55-9
- Kassell, Lauren, and Ralley, Robert, 2010. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. Volume 41, issue 2 (June 2010). ISSN: 13698486
- Kelley, David, H. and Milone, E.F., 2005. Exploring ancient skies: an encyclopedic survey of archaeoastronomy. Heidelberg / New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-95310-6.
- Kepler, Johannes, 1619. The Harmony of the World, translated by E.J. Aiton, A.M. Duncan and J.V. Field (1997). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0-87169-209-0.
- Koch-Westenholz, Ulla, 1995. Mesopotamian astrology. Volume 19 of CNI publications. Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN 978-87-7289-287-0.
- Lewis, James R., 1994. The Astrology Encyclopedia. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0-8103-8900-7.
- Luhrmann, Tanya, 1991. Persuasions of the witch's craft: ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-66324-1.
- Manilius, Marcus, c.10 AD. Astronomica. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-99516-3.
- McRitchie, Ken, 2006. ‘Astrology and the social sciences: looking inside the black box of astrology theory’; Correlation (2006), Vol 24(1), pp. 5-20.
- Marshack, Alexander, 1972. The roots of civilization: the cognitive beginnings of man's first art, symbol and notation. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-1-55921-041-6.
- Merriam-Webster, 1989. Webster's word histories. Springfield, Massachusetts, US: Merriam-Webster. ISBN 978-0-87779-048-8.
- Nordhaus-Bike, Anne, 2011. Follow the Sun: A Simple Way to Use Astrology for Living in Harmony . Bloomington, IN: Author House. ISBN 978-1-4567-5931-5.
- Partridge, Eric, 1960. Origins: a short etymological dictionary of modern English (2nd edition). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-674-99364-0.
- Pliny the Elder, 77AD. Natural History, books I-II, translated by H. Rackham (1938). Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-99364-0.
- Robbins, Frank E. (ed.) 1940. Ptolemy Tetrabiblos. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library). ISBN 0-674-99479-5.
- Rawley, William, 1858. The Works of Francis Bacon. Longmans 1858. Boston: Adamant Media. ISBN 978-1-4021-8221-1. Digitized by Harvard University, 2006; online at Google books.)
- Rawlins, Dennis, 1981. Fate Magazine 'sTARBABY'; pp.67-98. No.34, October 1981. Reproduced on the Cura website, retrieved 11 August 2011.
- Schuon, Frithjof, 1959. Gnosis: divine wisdom. J. Murray and Sons. Republished: World Wisdom Inc 2006. ISBN 978-1-933316-18-5.
- Smith, Mark A., 2006. Ptolemy's theory of visual perception: an English translation of the Optics. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN 978-0-87169-862-9.
- Soanes, Catherine, (ed.) 2006. The Oxford Dictionary of English 2nd ed. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 3-411-02144-6.
- Sun, Xiaochun, and Kistemaker, Jacob, 1997. The Chinese sky during the Han: constellating stars and society. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10737-3.
- Thomas, Keith, 1978. Religion and the decline of magic. London: Peregrine Books. ISBN 978-0-14-055150-1.
- Weiss, Piero and Taruskin, Richard, 2008. Music in the Western World: a history in documents. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-534-58599-0.
- Wiener, Phillip P., (ed.) 1973. The Dictionary of the History of Ideas vol.I. Scribner: New York. ISBN 0-684-13293-1.
External links[link]
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- Astrology at the Open Directory Project
- Digital International Astrology Library at C.U.R.A. (Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Astrologie) International Astrology Research Center; (retrieved 15 November 2011).
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Carl Sagan | |
|---|---|
 Sagan in 1980 |
|
| Born | (1934-11-09)November 9, 1934 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 20, 1996(1996-12-20) (aged 62) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Residence | United States[1] |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, astrobiology, space science, planetary science |
| Institutions | Cornell University Harvard University Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory University of California, Berkeley |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (B.A.), (B.Sc.), (M.Sc.), (PhD) |
| Known for | Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Cosmos Voyager Golden Record Pioneer plaque Contact Pale Blue Dot |
| Notable awards | NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal (1977) Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction (1978) Oersted Medal (1990) National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal (1994) |
Carl Edward Sagan ( /ˈseɪɡɪn/; November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers[2] and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. He advocated scientifically skeptical inquiry and the scientific method, pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Sagan is known for his popular science books and for the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which he narrated and co-wrote.[3] The book Cosmos was published to accompany the series. Sagan wrote the novel Contact, the basis for a 1997 film of the same name.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Carl Sagan was born in Brooklyn, New York,[4] to a Ukrainian Jewish family. His father, Sam Sagan, was an immigrant garment worker from Kamenets-Podolsk, Ukraine;[5] his mother, Rachel Molly Gruber, a housewife. Carl was named in honor of Rachel's biological mother, Chaiya Clara, in Sagan's words, "the mother she never knew." Sagan graduated from Rahway High School in Rahway, New Jersey, in 1951.[6]
He had a sister, Carol, and the family lived in a modest apartment near the Atlantic Ocean, in Bensonhurst, a Brooklyn neighborhood. According to Sagan, they were Reform Jews, the most liberal of the three main Jewish groups. Both Sagan and his sister agree that their father was not especially religious, but that their mother "definitely believed in God, and was active in the temple ... and served only Kosher meat."[6]:12 During the height of the Depression, his father had to accept a job as a theater usher.
According to biographer Keay Davidson, Sagan's "inner war" was a result of his close relations with both his parents, who were in many ways "opposites." Sagan traced his later analytical urges to his mother, a woman who had known "extreme poverty as a child," and had grown up almost homeless in New York City during World War I and the 1920s.[6]:2 She had her own intellectual ambitions as a young woman, but they were blocked by social restrictions, because of her poverty, her being a woman and wife, and her Jewish ethnicity. Davidson notes that she therefore "worshiped her only son, Carl. He would fulfill her unfulfilled dreams."[6]:2
However, his "sense of wonder" came from his father, who was a "quiet and soft-hearted escapee from the Czar." In his free time, he gave apples to the poor, or helped soothe labor-management tensions within New York's "tumultuous" garment industry.[6]:2 Although he was "awed" by Carl's "brilliance, his boyish chatter about stars and dinosaurs," he took his son's inquisitiveness in stride, as part of his growing up.[6]:2 In his later years as a writer and scientist, Sagan would often draw on his childhood memories to illustrate scientific points, as he did in his book, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.[6]:9 Sagan describes his parents' influence on his later thinking:
- My parents were not scientists. They knew almost nothing about science. But in introducing me simultaneously to skepticism and to wonder, they taught me the two uneasily cohabiting modes of thought that are central to the scientific method.[7]
1939 World's Fair[link]
Sagan recalls that one of his best experiences was when he was four or five years old, his parents took him to the 1939 New York World's Fair. The exhibits became a turning point in his life. He later recalled the moving map of the "America of Tomorrow" exhibit: "It showed beautiful highways and cloverleaves and little General Motors cars all carrying people to skyscrapers, buildings with lovely spires, flying buttresses—and it looked great!"[6]:14 At other exhibits, he remembered how a flashlight that shined on a photoelectric cell created a cracking sound, and how the sound from a tuning fork became a wave on an oscilloscope. He also witnessed the future media technology that would replace radio: television. Sagan wrote:
- Plainly, the world held wonders of a kind I had never guessed. How could a tone become a picture and light become a noise?[6]:14
He also saw one of the Fair's most publicized events, the burial of a time capsule at Flushing Meadows, which contained mementos of the 1930s to be recovered by Earth's descendants in a future millennium. "The time capsule thrilled Carl," writes Davidson. As an adult, Sagan and his colleagues created similar time capsules, but ones that would be sent out into the galaxy. These were the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record records, all of which were spinoffs of Sagan's memories of the World Fair.[6]:15
World War II[link]
During World War II, Sagan's family worried about the fate of their European relatives. Sagan, however, was generally unaware of the details of the ongoing war. He writes, "Sure, we had relatives who were caught up in the Holocaust. Hitler was not a popular fellow in our household ... But on the other hand, I was fairly insulated from the horrors of the war." His sister, Carol, said that their mother "above all wanted to protect Carl ... She had an extraordinarily difficult time dealing with World War II and the Holocaust."[6]:15 Sagan's book, The Demon-Haunted World (1996), included his memories of this conflicted period, when his family dealt with the realities of the war in Europe, but tried to prevent it from undermining his optimistic spirit.[7]
Inquisitiveness about nature[link]
Soon after entering elementary school, he began to express a strong inquisitiveness about nature. Sagan recalled taking his first trips to the public library alone, at the age of five, when his mother got him a library card. He wanted to learn what stars were, since none of his friends or their parents could give him a clear answer:
- I went to the librarian and asked for a book about stars ... And the answer was stunning. It was that the Sun was a star but really close. The stars were suns, but so far away they were just little points of light ... The scale of the universe suddenly opened up to me. It was a kind of religious experience. There was a magnificence to it, a grandeur, a scale which has never left me. Never ever left me.[6]:18
About the time he was six or seven, he and a close friend took trips to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. While there, they went to the Hayden Planetarium and walked around the museum's exhibits of space objects, such as meteorites, and displays of dinosaurs and animals in natural settings. Sagan writes about those visits:
- I was transfixed by the dioramas—lifelike representations of animals and their habitats all over the world. Penguins on the dimly lit Antarctic ice; ... a family of gorillas, the male beating his chest, ... an American grizzly bear standing on his hind legs, ten or twelve feet tall, and staring me right in the eye.[6]:18
His parents helped nurture his growing interest in science by buying him chemistry sets and reading materials.[8] His interest in space, however, was his primary focus, especially after reading science fiction stories by writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, which stirred his imagination about life on other planets, such as Mars. According to biographer Ray Spangenburg, these early years as Sagan tried to understand the mysteries of the planets, became a "driving force in his life, a continual spark to his intellect, and a quest that would never be forgotten."[7]
Education and scientific career[link]
He attended the University of Chicago, where he participated in the Ryerson Astronomical Society,[9] received a bachelor of arts in self-proclaimed "nothing" with general and special honors in 1954, a bachelor of science in physics in 1955, and a master of science in physics in 1956 before earning a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics in 1960.[10][11][12] During his time as an honors program undergraduate, Sagan worked in the laboratory of the geneticist H. J. Muller and wrote a thesis on the origins of life with physical chemist H.C. Urey. From 1960 to 1962 Sagan was a Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. From 1962 to 1968, he worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sagan lectured and did research at Harvard University until 1968, when he moved to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He became a full Professor at Cornell in 1971, and he directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies there. From 1972 to 1981, Sagan was the Associate Director of the Center for Radio Physics and Space Research at Cornell.
Sagan was associated with the US space program from its inception. From the 1950s onward, he worked as an advisor to NASA, where one of his duties included briefing the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the Moon. Sagan contributed to many of the robotic spacecraft missions that explored the solar system, arranging experiments on many of the expeditions. He conceived the idea of adding an unalterable and universal message on spacecraft destined to leave the solar system that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find it. Sagan assembled the first physical message that was sent into space: a gold- anodized plaque, attached to the space probe Pioneer 10, launched in 1972. Pioneer 11, also carrying another copy of the plaque, was launched the following year. He continued to refine his designs; the most elaborate message he helped to develop and assemble was the Voyager Golden Record that was sent out with the Voyager space probes in 1977. Sagan often challenged the decisions to fund the Space Shuttle and Space Station at the expense of further robotic missions.[13]
Sagan taught a course on critical thinking at Cornell University until he died in 1996 from pneumonia, a few months after finding that he was in remission of myelodysplastic syndrome.
Scientific achievements[link]
Sagan's contributions were central to the discovery of the high surface temperatures of the planet Venus. In the early 1960s no one knew for certain the basic conditions of that planet's surface, and Sagan listed the possibilities in a report later depicted for popularization in a Time-Life book, Planets. His own view was that Venus was dry and very hot as opposed to the balmy paradise others had imagined. He had investigated radio emissions from Venus and concluded that there was a surface temperature of 500 °C (900 °F). As a visiting scientist to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he contributed to the first Mariner missions to Venus, working on the design and management of the project. Mariner 2 confirmed his conclusions on the surface conditions of Venus in 1962.
Sagan was among the first to hypothesize that Saturn's moon Titan might possess oceans of liquid compounds on its surface and that Jupiter's moon Europa might possess subsurface oceans of water. This would make Europa potentially habitable.[14] Europa's subsurface ocean of water was later indirectly confirmed by the spacecraft Galileo. The mystery of Titan's reddish haze was also solved with Sagan's help. The reddish haze was revealed to be due to complex organic molecules constantly raining down onto Titan's surface.[15]
He further contributed insights regarding the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter as well as seasonal changes on Mars. Sagan established that the atmosphere of Venus is extremely hot and dense with pressures increasing steadily all the way down to the surface. He also perceived global warming as a growing, man-made danger and likened it to the natural development of Venus into a hot, life-hostile planet through a kind of runaway greenhouse effect. Sagan and his Cornell colleague Edwin Ernest Salpeter speculated about life in Jupiter's clouds, given the planet's dense atmospheric composition rich in organic molecules. He studied the observed color variations on Mars' surface and concluded that they were not seasonal or vegetational changes as most believed but shifts in surface dust caused by windstorms.
Sagan is best known, however, for his research on the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation.[16]
He is also the 1994 recipient of the Public Welfare Medal, the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences for "distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare."[17] He was denied membership in the Academy, reportedly because his media activities made him unpopular with many other scientists.[18]
Scientific advocacy[link]
Sagan's ability to convey his ideas allowed many people to better understand the cosmos—simultaneously emphasizing the value and worthiness of the human race, and the relative insignificance of the Earth in comparison to the universe. He delivered the 1977 series of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in London.[19] He hosted and, with Ann Druyan, co-wrote and co-produced the highly popular thirteen-part PBS television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage modeled on Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man.
Cosmos covered a wide range of scientific subjects including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. The series was first broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1980, winning an Emmy and a Peabody Award. It has been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people,[3][20] making it the most widely watched PBS program in history.[21] In addition, Time magazine ran a cover story about Sagan soon after the show broadcast, referring to him as "creator, chief writer and host-narrator of the new public television series Cosmos, [and] takes the controls of his fantasy spaceship."[22]
Sagan was a proponent of the search for extraterrestrial life. He urged the scientific community to listen with radio telescopes for signals from potential intelligent extraterrestrial life-forms. Sagan was so persuasive that by 1982 he was able to get a petition advocating SETI published in the journal Science and signed by 70 scientists including seven Nobel Prize winners. This was a tremendous increase in the respectability of this controversial field. Sagan also helped Dr. Frank Drake write the Arecibo message, a radio message beamed into space from the Arecibo radio telescope on November 16, 1974, aimed at informing potential extraterrestrials about Earth.
Sagan was chief technology officer of the professional planetary research journal Icarus for twelve years. He co-founded the Planetary Society, the largest space-interest group in the world, with over 100,000 members in more than 149 countries, and was a member of the SETI Institute Board of Trustees. Sagan served as Chairman of the Division for Planetary Science of the American Astronomical Society, as President of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union, and as Chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
At the height of the Cold War, Sagan became involved in public awareness efforts for the effects of nuclear war when a mathematical climate model suggested that a substantial nuclear exchange could upset the delicate balance of life on Earth. He was one of five authors—the "S" of the "TTAPS" report as the research paper came to be known. He eventually co-authored the scientific paper hypothesizing a global nuclear winter following nuclear war.[23] He also co-authored the book A Path Where No Man Thought: Nuclear Winter and the End of the Arms Race, a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of nuclear winter.
Sagan also wrote books to popularize science which reflected and expanded upon some of the themes of A Personal Voyage, and became the best-selling science book ever published in English;[24] The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence, which won a Pulitzer Prize; and Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science. Sagan also wrote the best-selling science fiction novel Contact in 1985, based on a film treatment he wrote with his wife in 1979, but he did not live to see the book's 1997 motion picture adaptation, which starred Jodie Foster and won the 1998 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Adaption.
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He wrote a sequel to Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, which was selected as a notable book of 1995 by The New York Times. He appeared on PBS' Charlie Rose program in January 1995.[25] Sagan also wrote an introduction for the bestselling book by Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. Sagan was also known for his popularization of science, his efforts to increase scientific understanding among the general public, and his positions in favor of scientific skepticism and against pseudoscience, such as his debunking of the Betty and Barney Hill abduction. To mark the tenth anniversary of Sagan's death, David Morrison, a former student of Sagan, recalled "Sagan's immense contributions to planetary research, the public understanding of science, and the skeptical movement" in Skeptical Inquirer.[26]
Sagan hypothesized in January 1991 that enough smoke from the 1991 Kuwaiti oil fires "might get so high as to disrupt agriculture in much of South Asia ..." He later conceded in The Demon-Haunted World that this prediction did not turn out to be correct: "it was pitch black at noon and temperatures dropped 4°–6 °C over the Persian Gulf, but not much smoke reached stratospheric altitudes and Asia was spared."[27] A 2007 study noted that modern computer models have been applied to the Kuwait oil fires, finding that individual smoke plumes are not able to loft smoke into the stratosphere, but that smoke from fires covering a large area, like some forest fires or the burning of cities that would be expected to follow a nuclear strike, would loft significant amounts of smoke into the stratosphere.[28][29][30][31]
In his later years Sagan advocated the creation of an organized search for near Earth objects that might impact the Earth.[32] When others suggested creating large nuclear bombs that could be used to alter the orbit of a NEO that was predicted to hit the Earth, Sagan proposed the Deflection Dilemma: If we create the ability to deflect an asteroid away from the Earth, then we also create the ability to deflect an asteroid towards the Earth—providing an evil power with a true doomsday bomb.[33][34]
Billions and billions[link]
From Cosmos and his frequent appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Sagan became associated with the catchphrase "billions and billions". Sagan stated that he never actually used the phrase in the Cosmos series.[35] The closest that he ever came was in the book Cosmos, where he talked of "billions upon billions":[36]
A galaxy is composed of gas and dust and stars—billions upon billions of stars.
However, his frequent use of the word billions, and distinctive delivery emphasizing the "b" (which he did intentionally, in place of more cumbersome alternatives such as "billions with a 'b'", in order to distinguish the word from "millions" in viewers' minds),[35] made him a favorite target of comic performers, including Johnny Carson,[38] Gary Kroeger, Mike Myers, Bronson Pinchot, Penn Jillette, Harry Shearer, and others. Frank Zappa satirized the line in the song "Be In My Video", noting as well "atomic light". Sagan took this all in good humor, and his final book was entitled Billions and Billions, which opened with a tongue-in-cheek discussion of this catchphrase, observing that Carson was an amateur astronomer and that Carson's comic caricature often included real science.[35]
Similarly he is also known for expressing wonderment at the vastness of space and time, as in his phrase "The total number of stars in the Universe is larger than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the planet Earth."
Sagan units[link]
As a humorous tribute to him, a sagan has been defined as a unit of measurement equal to at least four billion, since the smallest number that may be described as billions and billions must be two billion plus two billion.[39][40]
Social concerns[link]
Sagan believed that the Drake equation, on substitution of reasonable estimates, suggested that a large number of extraterrestrial civilizations would form, but that the lack of evidence of such civilizations highlighted by the Fermi paradox suggests technological civilizations tend to self-destruct. This stimulated his interest in identifying and publicizing ways that humanity could destroy itself, with the hope of avoiding such a cataclysm and eventually becoming a spacefaring species. Sagan's deep concern regarding the potential destruction of human civilization in a nuclear holocaust was conveyed in a memorable cinematic sequence in the final episode of Cosmos, called "Who Speaks for Earth?" Sagan had already resigned from the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and voluntarily surrendered his top secret clearance in protest over the Vietnam War.[41] Following his marriage to his third wife (novelist Ann Druyan) in June 1981, Sagan became more politically active—particularly in opposing escalation of the nuclear arms race under President Ronald Reagan.
In March 1983, Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative—a multi-billion dollar project to develop a comprehensive defense against attack by nuclear missiles, which was quickly dubbed the "Star Wars" program. Sagan spoke out against the project, arguing that it was technically impossible to develop a system with the level of perfection required, and far more expensive to build than for an enemy to defeat through decoys and other means—and that its construction would seriously destabilize the nuclear balance between the United States and the Soviet Union, making further progress toward nuclear disarmament impossible.
When Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared a unilateral moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons, which would begin on August 6, 1985—the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima—the Reagan administration dismissed the dramatic move as nothing more than propaganda, and refused to follow suit. In response, US anti-nuclear and peace activists staged a series of protest actions at the Nevada Test Site, beginning on Easter Sunday in 1986 and continuing through 1987. Hundreds of people were arrested, including Sagan, who was arrested on two separate occasions as he climbed over a chain-link fence at the test site.[42]
Personal life and beliefs[link]
Sagan was married three times—in 1957, to biologist Lynn Margulis, mother of Dorion Sagan and Jeremy Sagan; in 1968, to artist Linda Salzman, mother of Nick Sagan; and in 1981, to author Ann Druyan, mother of Alexandra Rachel (Sasha) Sagan and Samuel Democritus Sagan. His marriage to Druyan continued until his death in 1996.
Isaac Asimov described Sagan as one of only two people he ever met whose intellect surpassed his own. The other, he claimed, was the computer scientist and artificial intelligence expert Marvin Minsky.[43]
Sagan wrote frequently about religion and the relationship between religion and science, expressing his skepticism about the conventional conceptualization of God as a sapient being. For example:
"Some people think God is an outsized, light-skinned male with a long white beard, sitting on a throne somewhere up there in the sky, busily tallying the fall of every sparrow. Others—for example Baruch Spinoza and Albert Einstein—considered God to be essentially the sum total of the physical laws which describe the universe. I do not know of any compelling evidence for anthropomorphic patriarchs controlling human destiny from some hidden celestial vantage point, but it would be madness to deny the existence of physical laws."[44]
In another description of his view of God, Sagan emphatically writes:
"The idea that God is an oversized white male with a flowing beard who sits in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow is ludicrous. But if by God one means the set of physical laws that govern the universe, then clearly there is such a God. This God is emotionally unsatisfying... it does not make much sense to pray to the law of gravity."[45]
On atheism, Sagan commented in 1981:
"An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and places and to ultimate causes, we would have to know a great deal more about the universe than we do now to be sure that no such God exists. To be certain of the existence of God and to be certain of the nonexistence of God seem to me to be the confident extremes in a subject so riddled with doubt and uncertainty as to inspire very little confidence indeed".[46]
In reply to a question in 1996 about his religious beliefs, Sagan answered, "I'm agnostic."[47] Sagan's views on religion have been interpreted as a form of pantheism comparable to Einstein's belief in Spinoza's God.[48] Sagan maintained that the idea of a creator of the universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could challenge it would be an infinitely old universe.[49] According to his last wife, Ann Druyan, he was not a believer:
When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me—it still sometimes happens—and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don't ever expect to be reunited with Carl.[50]
In 2006, Ann Druyan edited Sagan's 1985 Glasgow Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology into a book, The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, in which he elaborates on his views of divinity in the natural world.
Sagan is also widely regarded as a freethinker or skeptic; one of his most famous quotations, in Cosmos, was, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"[51] (called the "Sagan Standard" by some[52]). This was based on a nearly identical statement by fellow founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, Marcello Truzzi, "An extraordinary claim requires extraordinary proof."[53][54] This idea originated with Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749–1827), a French mathematician and astronomer who said, "The weight of evidence for an extraordinary claim must be proportioned to its strangeness."[55]
Late in his life, Sagan's books elaborated on his skeptical, naturalistic view of the world. In The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, he presented tools for testing arguments and detecting fallacious or fraudulent ones, essentially advocating wide use of critical thinking and the scientific method. The compilation Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, published in 1997 after Sagan's death, contains essays written by Sagan, such as his views on abortion, and his widow Ann Druyan's account of his death as a skeptic, agnostic, and freethinker.
Sagan warned against humans' tendency towards anthropocentrism. He was the faculty adviser for the Cornell Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In the Cosmos chapter "Blues For a Red Planet", Sagan wrote, "If there is life on Mars, I believe we should do nothing with Mars. Mars then belongs to the Martians, even if the Martians are only microbes."[56]
Sagan was a user and advocate of marijuana. Under the pseudonym "Mr. X", he contributed an essay about smoking cannabis to the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered.[57][58] The essay explained that marijuana use had helped to inspire some of Sagan's works and enhance sensual and intellectual experiences. After Sagan's death, his friend Lester Grinspoon disclosed this information to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson. The publishing of the biography, Carl Sagan: A Life, in 1999 brought media attention to this aspect of Sagan's life.[59][60][61] Not long after his death, widow Ann Druyan had gone on to preside over the board of directors of NORML, a foundation dedicated to reforming cannabis laws.[62]
In 1994, engineers at Apple Computer code-named the Power Macintosh 7100 "Carl Sagan" in the hope that Apple would make "billions and billions" with the sale of the PowerMac 7100.[4] The name was only used internally, but Sagan was concerned that it would become a product endorsement and sent Apple a cease and desist letter. Apple complied, but engineers retaliated by changing the internal codename to "BHA" for "Butt-Head Astronomer".[63][64] Sagan then sued Apple for libel, a form of defamation, in federal court. The court granted Apple's motion to dismiss Sagan's claims and opined in dicta that a reader aware of the context would understand Apple was "clearly attempting to retaliate in a humorous and satirical way", and that "It strains reason to conclude that Defendant was attempting to criticize Plaintiff's reputation or competency as an astronomer. One does not seriously attack the expertise of a scientist using the undefined phrase 'butt-head'."[63][65] Sagan then sued for Apple's original use of his name and likeness, but again lost.[66] Sagan appealed the ruling.[66] In November 1995, an out of court settlement was reached and Apple's office of trademarks and patents released a conciliatory statement that "Apple has always had great respect for Dr. Sagan. It was never Apple's intention to cause Dr. Sagan or his family any embarrassment or concern."[67]
Sagan briefly served as an adviser on Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey.[6] Sagan proposed that the film would suggest, rather than depict, extraterrestrial superintelligence.[68]
Sagan and UFOs[link]
Sagan had some interest in UFO reports from at least August 3, 1952 when he wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson to ask how the U.S. would respond if flying saucers turned out to be extraterrestrial.[69] He later had several conversations on the subject in 1964 with Jacques Vallee.[70] Though quite skeptical of any extraordinary answer to the UFO question, Sagan thought scientists should study the phenomenon, at least because there was widespread public interest in UFO reports.
Stuart Appelle notes that Sagan "wrote frequently on what he perceived as the logical and empirical fallacies regarding UFOs and the abduction experience. Sagan rejected an extraterrestrial explanation for the phenomenon but felt there were both empirical and pedagogical benefits for examining UFO reports and that the subject was, therefore, a legitimate topic of study."[71]
In 1966, Sagan was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force's UFO investigation project. The committee concluded Blue Book had been lacking as a scientific study, and recommended a university-based project to give the UFO phenomenon closer scientific scrutiny. The result was the Condon Committee (1966–1968), led by physicist Edward Condon, and in their final report they formally concluded that UFOs, regardless of what any of them actually were, did not behave in a manner consistent with a threat to national security.
Ron Westrum writes that "The high point of Sagan's treatment of the UFO question was the AAAS's symposium in 1969. A wide range of educated opinions on the subject were offered by participants, including not only proponents such as James McDonald and J. Allen Hynek but also skeptics like astronomers William Hartmann and Donald Menzel. The roster of speakers was balanced, and it is to Sagan's credit that this event was presented in spite of pressure from Edward Condon".[70] With physicist Thornton Page, Sagan edited the lectures and discussions given at the symposium; these were published in 1972 as UFOs: A Scientific Debate. Some of Sagan's many books examine UFOs (as did one episode of Cosmos) and he claimed a religious undercurrent to the phenomenon.
Sagan again revealed his views on interstellar travel in his 1980 Cosmos series. In one of his last written works, Sagan argued that the chances of extraterrestrial spacecraft visiting Earth are vanishingly small. However, Sagan did think it plausible that Cold War concerns contributed to governments misleading their citizens about UFOs, and that "some UFO reports and analyses, and perhaps voluminous files, have been made inaccessible to the public which pays the bills ... It's time for the files to be declassified and made generally available." He cautioned against jumping to conclusions about suppressed UFO data and stressed that there was no strong evidence that aliens were visiting the Earth either in the past or present.[72]
Death[link]
After a long and difficult fight with myelodysplasia, which included three bone marrow transplants, Sagan died of pneumonia at the age of 62 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, on December 20, 1996.[73] He was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Ithaca, New York.[74]
Posthumous recognition[link]
The 1997 movie Contact, based on Sagan's novel of the same name and finished after his death, ends with the dedication "For Carl".
In 1997, the Sagan Planet Walk was opened in Ithaca, New York. It is a walking scale model of the solar system, extending 1.2 km from the center of The Commons in downtown Ithaca to the Sciencenter, a hands-on museum. The exhibition was created in memory of Carl Sagan, who was an Ithaca resident and Cornell Professor. Professor Sagan had been a founding member of the museum's advisory board.[75]
The landing site of the unmanned Mars Pathfinder spacecraft was renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station on July 5, 1997. Asteroid 2709 Sagan is named in his honor.
Sagan's son, Nick Sagan, wrote several episodes in the Star Trek franchise. In an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise entitled "Terra Prime", a quick shot is shown of the relic rover Sojourner, part of the Mars Pathfinder mission, placed by a historical marker at Carl Sagan Memorial Station on the Martian surface. The marker displays a quote from Sagan: "Whatever the reason you're on Mars, I'm glad you're there, and I wish I was with you." Sagan's student Steve Squyres led the team that landed the Spirit Rover and Opportunity Rover successfully on Mars in 2004.
On November 9, 2001, on what would have been Sagan's 67th birthday, the NASA Ames Research Center dedicated the site for the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Cosmos. "Carl was an incredible visionary, and now his legacy can be preserved and advanced by a 21st century research and education laboratory committed to enhancing our understanding of life in the universe and furthering the cause of space exploration for all time", said NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. Ann Druyan was at the Center as it opened its doors on October 22, 2006.
Sagan has at least three awards named in his honor:
- The Carl Sagan Memorial Award presented jointly since 1997 by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the Planetary Society,
- The Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science presented since 1998 by the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences (AAS/DPS) for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public—Carl Sagan was one of the original organizing committee members of the DPS, and
- The Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science presented by the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP)—Sagan was the first recipient of the CSSP award in 1993.[76]
In 2006, the Carl Sagan Medal was awarded to astrobiologist and author David Grinspoon, the son of Sagan's friend Lester Grinspoon.
On December 20, 2006, the tenth anniversary of Sagan's death, a blogger, Joel Schlosberg, organized a Carl Sagan "blog-a-thon" to commemorate Sagan's death, and the idea was supported by Nick Sagan.[77] Many members of the blogging community participated.
August 2007 the Independent Investigative Group IIG awarded Sagan posthumously a Lifetime Achievement Award. This honor has also been awarded to Harry Houdini and James Randi.[78]
Beginning in 2009, a musical project known as Symphony of Science sampled several excerpts of Sagan from his series Cosmos and remixed them to electronic music. To date, the videos have received over twenty-million views worldwide on the popular user generated website Youtube, and have exposed a new generation to the interconnected grandeur of the universe as Sagan described them in his documentary series.[79]
Awards and honors[link]
NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal
- Annual Award for Television Excellence—1981—Ohio State University—PBS series Cosmos
- Apollo Achievement Award—National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal—National Aeronautics and Space Administration (twice)
- Emmy—Outstanding Individual Achievement—1981—PBS series Cosmos
- Emmy—Outstanding Informational Series—1981—PBS series Cosmos
- Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal—National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Helen Caldicott Leadership Award – Awarded by Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament
- Hugo Award—1981—Cosmos
- Humanist of the Year—1981—Awarded by the American Humanist Association
- In Praise of Reason Award—1987—Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
- Isaac Asimov Award—1994—Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
- John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award—American Astronautical Society
- John W. Campbell Memorial Award—1974—The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective
- Joseph Priestley Award—"For distinguished contributions to the welfare of mankind"
- Klumpke-Roberts Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific—1974
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Medal—Awarded by the Soviet Cosmonauts Federation
- Locus Award 1986—Contact
- Lowell Thomas Award—Explorers Club—75th Anniversary
- Masursky Award—American Astronomical Society
- Miller Research Fellowship—Miller Institute (1960–1962)
- Oersted Medal—1990—American Association of Physics Teachers
- Peabody Award—1980—PBS series Cosmos
- Prix Galbert—The international prize of Astronautics
- Public Welfare Medal—1994—National Academy of Sciences[80]
- Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction—1978—The Dragons of Eden
- SF Chronicle Award—1998—Contact
- Named the "99th Greatest American" on the June 5, 2005, Greatest American show on the Discovery Channel
- Named an honorary member of the Demosthenian Literary Society on November 10, 2011
- 2009 New Jersey Hall of Fame inductee.[81]
Publications[link]
- Planets (LIFE Science Library), Sagan, Carl, Jonathan Norton Leonard and editors of Life, Time, Inc., 1966
- Intelligent Life in the Universe, I.S. Shklovskii coauthor, Random House, 1966, ISBN 1-892803-02-X, 509 pgs (note: republished in 1998 by Emerson-Adams Press)
- UFOs: A Scientific Debate, Thornton Page coauthor, Cornell University Press, 1972, 310 pgs
- Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence. MIT Press, 1973, 428 pgs
- Mars and the Mind of Man, Sagan, Carl, et al., Harper & Row, 1973, 143 pgs
- The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective, Jerome Agel coauthor, Anchor Press, 1973, ISBN 0-521-78303-8, 301 pgs
- Other Worlds. Bantam Books, 1975
- Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record, Sagan, Carl, et al., Random House, ISBN 0-394-41047-5, 1978
- The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence. Ballantine Books, 1978, ISBN 0-345-34629-7, 288 pgs
- Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science. Ballantine Books, 1979, ISBN 0-345-33689-5, 416 pgs
- Cosmos. Random House, 1980. Random House New Edition, May 7, 2002, ISBN 0-375-50832-5, 384 pgs
- The Cold and the Dark: The World after Nuclear War, Sagan, Carl et al., Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985
- Comet, Ann Druyan coauthor, Ballantine Books, 1985, ISBN 0-345-41222-2, 496 pgs
- Contact. Simon and Schuster, 1985; Reissued August 1997 by Doubleday Books, ISBN 1-56865-424-3, 352 pgs
- A Path Where No Man Thought: Nuclear Winter and the End of the Arms Race, Richard Turco coauthor, Random House, 1990, ISBN 0-394-58307-8, 499 pgs
- Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: A Search for Who We Are, Ann Druyan coauthor, Ballantine Books, October 1993, ISBN 0-345-38472-5, 528 pgs
- Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. Random House, November 1994, ISBN 0-679-43841-6, 429 pgs
- The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books, March 1996, ISBN 0-345-40946-9, 480 pgs (note: the book was first published and copyrighted in 1995 with an errata slip inserted)
- Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, Ann Druyan coauthor, Ballantine Books, June 1997, ISBN 0-345-37918-7, 320 pgs
- The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, Carl Sagan (writer) & Ann Druyan (editor), 1985 Gifford lectures, Penguin Press HC, November 2006, ISBN 1-59420-107-2, 304 pgs
References[link]
- ^ Sagan, Carl (1994). Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1st ed.). New York: Random House. p. 68. ISBN 0-679-43841-6.
- ^ Some of Carl Sagan's papers on NASA ADS
- ^ a b "StarChild: Dr. Carl Sagan". NASA. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/sagan.html. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ a b Poundstone, William (1999). Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos. New York: Henry Holt & Company. pp. 363–364, 374–375. ISBN 0-8050-5766-8.
- ^ Carl Sagan: Biographical fast facts
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Davidson, Keay; Sagan, Carl (1999). Carl Sagan: a life. Wiley. p. 168. ISBN 0-471-25286-7. http://books.google.com/?id=TXDvAAAAMAAJ.
- ^ a b c Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Diane. Carl Sagan: A Biography, Greenwood Publ. (2004) pp. 2–5
- ^ "Carl Sagan". FamousScientists.org. http://www.famousscientists.org/carl-sagan. Retrieved December 15, 2011.
- ^ http://astro.uchicago.edu/RAS/
- ^ Graduate students receive first Sagan teaching awards
- ^ Head, Tom (ed.) (2005). Conversations with Carl Sagan. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. xxi. ISBN 1-57806-736-7.
- ^ Spangenburg, Ray coauthors=Moser, Kit (2004). Carl Sagan: A Biography. Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-313-32265-1.
- ^ "A conversation with Carl Sagan". Charlie Rose. January 5, 1995. 5 minutes in. PBS. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/7121.
- ^ Much of Sagan's research in the field of planetary science is outlined by William Poundstone. Poundstone's biography of Sagan includes an 8-page list of Sagan's scientific articles published from 1957 to 1998. Detailed information about Sagan's scientific work comes from the primary research articles. Example: Sagan, C., Thompson, W. R., and Khare, B. N. Titan: A Laboratory for Prebiological Organic Chemistry, Accounts of Chemical Research, volume 25, page 286 (1992). There is commentary on this research article about Titan at The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight.
- ^ Pafumi, G.R. (2010). Is Our Vision of God Obsolete?. Xlibris Corporation. p. 338. http://books.google.com/books?id=ySNfuGKwfMcC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia. "Sagan, Carl Edward". Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press. http://www.bartelby.com/65/sa/Sagan-Ca.html. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ The Planetary Society. "Carl Sagan". The Planetary Society. http://www.planetary.org/about/founders/carl_sagan.html. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
- ^ Gregory Benford (1997). "A Tribute to Carl Sagan: Popular & Pilloried". Skeptic (U.S. magazine) 13 (1). http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/popular-and-pilloried/.
- ^ "Christmas Lectures 1977: The Planets : Ri Channel". http://richannel.org/christmas-lectures/1977/1977-carl-sagan. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
- ^ "Carl Sagan". EMuseum@Minnesota State University. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/sagan_carl.html. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ "CosmoLearning Astronomy". CosmoLearning. http://www.cosmolearning.com/documentaries/cosmos/. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ Time magazine, cover story, Oct. 20, 1980
- ^ Turco RP, Toon OB, Ackerman TP, Pollack JB, Sagan C. Climate and smoke: an appraisal of nuclear winter, Science, volume 247, pages 166–176 (1990). PubMed abstract JSTOR link to full text article. Carl Sagan discussed his involvement in the political nuclear winter debates and his erroneous global cooling prediction for the Gulf War fires in his book, The Demon-Haunted World.
- ^ "Meet Dr. Carl Sagan". The Science Channel. http://science.discovery.com/convergence/cosmos/bio/bio.html?clik=fsmain_feat3. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ Sagan, Carl (January 5, 1995) (.SWF). Interview with Charlie Rose. Charlie Rose. PBS. New York. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1127834163386485385#2370s. Retrieved April 25, 2007. starts at 00:39:29
- ^ Morrison, David (2007). Man for the Cosmos: Carl Sagan's Life and Legacy as Scientist, Teacher, and Skeptic. Skeptical Inquirer January/February, 31(1), pp. 29–38.
- ^ Sagan, Carl (1996). The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark. New York: Random House. p. 257. ISBN 0-394-53512-X.
- ^ In-situ observations of mid-latitude forest fire plumes deep in the stratosphere
- ^ EO Newsroom: New Images — Smoke Soars to Stratospheric Heights
- ^ Observations of Boreal Forest Fire Smoke in the Stratosphere
- ^ Fromm (2006). "Smoke in the Stratosphere: What Wildfires have Taught Us About Nuclear Winter". Eos Trans. AGU 87 (52 Fall Meet. Suppl.): Abstract U14A–04. Bibcode 2006EOSTr..87...14Z. DOI:10.1029/2006EO020009. http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/SFgate/SFgate?&listenv=table&multiple=1&range=1&directget=1&application=fm06&database=%2Fdata%2Fepubs%2Fwais%2Findexes%2Ffm06%2Ffm06&maxhits=200&=%22U14A-04%22.
- ^ Head, Tom (2006). Conversations With Carl Sagan. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 86–87. ISBN 1-57806-736-7.
- ^ "David Morrison—Taking a Hit: Asteroid Impacts & Evolution". Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures. season 2007–2008. October 3, 2007. http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html.
- ^ Sagan, Carl; Ostro (1994). "Long-Range Consequences of Interplanetary Collisions". Issues in Science and Technology X (4)
- ^ a b c Sagan, Carl; p. 3-4 (1998). Billions and Billions. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-37918-7.
- ^ Fred R. Shapiro and Joseph Epstein (2006). "Carl Sagan". The Yale Book of Quotations. Yale University Press. pp. 660. ISBN 0-300-10798-6.
- ^ Carl Sagan (1980). Cosmos. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-33135-9.
- ^ "Carl Sagan Takes Questions: More From His 'Wonder and Skepticism' CSICOP 1994 Keynote". The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. June 26, 1994. http://www.csicop.org/si/show/carl_sagan_takes_questions. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ sagan at dictionary.reference.com (definition from the Jargon File)
- ^ William Safire, ON LANGUAGE; Footprints on the Infobahn, New York Times, April 17, 1994
- ^ Druyan, Ann (2000). "A New Sense of the Sacred Carl Sagan's "Cosmic Connection"". Humanist. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_6_60/ai_78889720/.
- ^ Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Kit; Moser, Diane (2004). Carl Sagan: a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 106. ISBN 0-313-32265-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z01FzDkprgUC. , Chapter 8, page 106
- ^ Asimov, Isaac (1980). In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954–1978. Doubleday/Avon. pp. 217, 302. ISBN 0-380-53025-2.
- ^ Sagan, Carl (February 12, 1986). "Chapter 23". Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science. Ballantine Books. p. 330. ISBN 0-345-33689-5.
- ^ http://atheism.about.com/library/quotes/bl_q_CSagan.htm
- ^ Wakin, Edward (May 1981). "God and Carl Sagan: Is the Cosmos Big Enough for Both of Them?". U.S. Catholic: 19–24. http://www.uscatholic.org. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ^ Head, Tom. "Conversations with Carl". Skeptic 13 (1): 32–38. Excerpted in Head, Tom, ed. (2006). University of Mississippi Press. ISBN 1-57806-736-7..
- ^ Tracy, David. "Kenosis, Sunyata, and Trinity: A Dialogue with Masao Abe." In The Emptying God: A Buddhist-Jewish-Christian Conversation, eds. John B. Cobb Jr., and Christopher Ives. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1990, pg. 52, ISBN 81-7030-490-3
- ^ Sagan, Carl (1996). The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 278. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.
- ^ Druyan, Ann (November/December 2003). "Ann Druyan talks about science, religion, wonder, awe ... and Carl Sagan". Skeptical Inquirer (Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) 27 (6). ISSN 0194-6730. http://www.csicop.org/si/show/ann_druyan_talks_about_science_religion/. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ^ Carl Sagan (writer/host) (December 14, 1980). "Encyclopaedia Galactica". Cosmos. episode 12. 01:24 minutes in. PBS.
- ^ Hugh Rawson (2008). "Sagan's Standard". The Unwritten Laws of Life. CSBC Ltd. http://lawsoflife.co.uk/sagans-standard/. Retrieved Feb 15, 2011.
- ^ Marcello Truzzi (1978). "On the Extraordinary: An Attempt at Clarification". Zetetic Scholar 1 (1): 11. http://www.tricksterbook.com/truzzi/ZS-Issues-PDFs/ZeteticScholarNo1.pdf.
- ^ Truzzi, Marcello (1998). "On Some Unfair Practices towards Claims of the Paranormal". Oxymoron: Annual Thematic Anthology of the Arts and Sciences, Vol.2: The Fringe. Oxymoron Media. http://www.skepticalinvestigations.org/anomalistics/practices.htm. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ A sense of place in the heartland, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online
- ^ Sagan, Carl (October 12, 1985). Cosmos. Ballantine Books. p. 108. ISBN 0-345-33135-4.
- ^ Grinspoon, Lester (1994). Marihuana Reconsidered (2nd ed.). Oakland, CA: Quick American Archives. ISBN 0-932551-13-0.
- ^ Sagan, Carl. "Mr. X". Marijuana-Uses.com. http://marijuana-uses.com/mr-x/. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ Whitehouse, David (October 15, 1999). "Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/475954.stm. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ Davidson, Keay (August 22, 1999). "US: Billions and Billions of '60s Flashbacks". San Francisco Examiner. http://www.druglibrary.org/think/~jnr/sagan.htm. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ Larsen, Dana (November 1, 1999). "Carl Sagan: Toking Astronomer". Cannabis Culture Magazine. http://cannabisculture.com/articles/63.html. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ "Ann Druyan – NORML". ABOUT NORML. NORML and the NORML Foundation. http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4493. Retrieved Jul 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Poundstone, p. 364
- ^ "This Week in Apple History: November 14–20". The Mac Observer. http://www.macobserver.com/columns/thisweek/2004/20041120.shtml.
- ^ Sagan v. Apple Computer, Inc., 874 F.Supp. 1072 (USDC C.D. Cal. 1994), CV 94-2180 LGB (BRx); 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20154.
- ^ a b Poundstone, p. 374
- ^ Poundstone, pp. 374–375.
- ^ Sagan, Carl (2000). Carl Sagan's cosmic connection: an extraterrestrial perspective (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0-521-78303-8. http://books.google.com/?id=lL57o9YB0mAC. , Chapter 25, page 183
- ^ Davidson, Keay (1999). "Chicago". Carl Sagan: A Life. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. pp. 51–52. ISBN 0-471-25286-7.
- ^ a b Westrum, Ron; Jacobs, David Michael (ed.) (2000). "Limited Access: Six Natural Scientists and the UFO Phenomenon". UFOs and abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. pp. 30–55. ISBN 0-7006-1032-4.
- ^ Appelle, Stuart; Jacobs, David Michael (ed.) (2000). "Ufology and Academia: The UFO Phenomenon as a Scholarly Discipline". UFOs and abductions: Challenging the Borders of Knowledge. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. pp. 7–30. ISBN 0-7006-1032-4.
- ^ Sagan, 1996: 81–96, 99–104
- ^ "Carl Sagan dies at 62". CNN. December 20, 1996. http://www.cnn.com/US/9612/20/sagan/. Retrieved December 5, 2011. "Sagan was a noted astronomer whose lifelong passion was searching for intelligent life in the cosmos."
- ^ Carl Sagan at Find a Grave
- ^ http://www.sciencenter.org/saganpw/
- ^ "Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science". The Council of Scientific Society Presidents. http://cssp.us/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=47. Retrieved May 2, 2007.
- ^ Joel's humanistic blog: Announcing the Carl Sagan memorial blog-a-thon
- ^ "IIG | The IIG Awards". Iigwest.com. August 21, 2010. http://www.iigwest.com/iigawards/2006/index.html. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ Carl Sagan – A Glorious Dawn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc
- ^ "Public Welfare Award". National Academy of Sciences. http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_pwm. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ The Newark Star Ledger.
Further reading[link]
- Davidson, Keay (1999). Carl Sagan: A Life. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 33–41. ISBN 0-471-25286-7.
- Head, Tom (ed.) (2005). Conversations with Carl Sagan. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 1-57806-736-7.
- Poundstone, William (1999). Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos. New York: Henry Holt & Company. ISBN 0-8050-5766-8.
- Morrison, David (2006). "Carl Sagan: The People's Astronomer" (PDF). AmeriQuests 3 (2). http://ejournals.library.vanderbilt.edu/ameriquests/include/getdoc.php?id=402&article=93&mode=pdf.
- Achenbach, Joel (1999). Captured by Aliens: the search for life and truth in a very large universe. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-84856-2. [Includes detailed account of Sagan's role in the search for extraterrestrial life. Lay summary].
External links[link]
| Find more about Carl Sagan on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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Images and media from Commons |
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Quotations from Wikiquote |
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Source texts from Wikisource |
- The Carl Sagan Portal
- Video of skit from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson mentioning "billions and billions"
- BBC Radio program "Great Lives" on Carl Sagan's life
- A Man whose time Has come—Interview with Carl Sagan by Ian Ridpath, New Scientist 1974 July 4
- Carl Sagan at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by or about Carl Sagan in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization
- Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science, presented by the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences (AAS/DPS)
- Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute
- Carl Sagan's Life and Legacy as Scientist, Teacher, and Skeptic, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
- A Tribute to Carl Sagan: Our Place in the Universe, The Skeptics Society
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sagan, Carl |
| Alternative names | Sagan, Carl Edward |
| Short description | Astronomy and planetary science |
| Date of birth | 1934-11-9 <! ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) --> |
| Place of birth | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Date of death | 1996-12-20 <! ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) --> |
| Place of death | Seattle, Washington, United States |
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| Richard Dawkins | |
|---|---|
 Dawkins in 2010 at Cooper Union in New York City |
|
| Born | Clinton Richard Dawkins (1941-03-26) 26 March 1941 (age 71) Nairobi, Kenya Colony |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | MA, DPhil (Oxon) |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Ethologist |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Employer | University of California, Berkeley University of Oxford |
| Organization | Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature |
| Known for | Gene-centered view of evolution, concept of the meme, as well as advocacy of atheism and science. |
| Notable work(s) | The Selfish Gene (1976) The Extended Phenotype (1982) The Blind Watchmaker (1986) The God Delusion (2006) |
| Influenced by | Charles Darwin, Ronald Fisher, George C. Williams, W. D. Hamilton, Daniel Dennett, Bertrand Russell, Nikolaas Tinbergen, John Maynard Smith, Robert Trivers |
| Spouse | Marian Stamp Dawkins (m. 1967–1984) Eve Barham (m. 1984–?) Lalla Ward (m. 1992–present) |
| Children | Juliet Emma Dawkins (born 1984) |
| Parents | Clinton John Dawkins Jean Mary Vyvyan (née Ladner) |
| Awards | ZSL Silver Medal (1989) Faraday Award (1990) Kistler Prize (2001) |
| Website | |
| The Richard Dawkins Foundation | |
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941), known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford,[1] and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008.[2]
Dawkins came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centered view of evolution and introduced the term meme. In 1982 he introduced an influential concept into evolutionary biology, presented in his book The Extended Phenotype, that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, including the bodies of other organisms.[3]
Dawkins is an atheist, a vice president of the British Humanist Association, and a supporter of the Brights movement.[4] He is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, he argued against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. Instead, he described evolutionary processes as analogous to a blind watchmaker. He has since written several popular science books, and makes regular television and radio appearances, predominantly discussing these topics. In his 2006 book The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that religious faith is a delusion—"a fixed false belief."[5] As of January 2010 the English-language version has sold more than two million copies and had been translated into 31 languages.[6]
Contents |
Biography[link]
Dawkins was born in Nairobi, Kenya.[7] His father, Clinton John Dawkins (1915–2010),[8] was an agricultural civil servant in the British colonial service, in Nyasaland (now Malawi). Dawkins has a younger sister.[9] His father was called up into the King's African Rifles during World War II,[10][11] returning to England in 1949, when Dawkins was eight. His father had inherited a country estate, Over Norton Park, which he turned into a commercial farm.[8] Both his parents were interested in natural sciences; they answered Dawkins' questions in scientific terms.[12]
Dawkins describes his childhood as "a normal Anglican upbringing".[13] He was confirmed, and embraced Christianity until his mid-teens, at which point he concluded that the theory of evolution was a better explanation for life's complexity, and ceased believing in a god.[9] Dawkins states: "the main residual reason why I was religious was from being so impressed with the complexity of life and feeling that it had to have a designer, and I think it was when I realised that Darwinism was a far superior explanation that pulled the rug out from under the argument of design. And that left me with nothing."[9]
He attended Oundle, a Church of England school,[9] from 1954 to 1959. He studied zoology at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was tutored by Nobel Prize–winning ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen, graduating in 1962. He continued as a research student under Tinbergen's supervision, receiving his M.A. and D.Phil. degrees by 1966, and remained a research assistant for another year.[7] Tinbergen was a pioneer in the study of animal behaviour, particularly in the areas of instinct, learning and choice.[14] Dawkins' research in this period concerned models of animal decision-making.[15]
From 1967 to 1969, he was an assistant professor of zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. During this period, the students and faculty at UC Berkeley were largely opposed to the ongoing Vietnam War, and Dawkins became heavily involved in the anti-war demonstrations and activities.[16] He returned to the University of Oxford in 1970 taking a position as a lecturer, and in 1990, as a reader in zoology. In 1995 he was appointed Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position that had been endowed by Charles Simonyi with the express intention that the holder "be expected to make important contributions to the public understanding of some scientific field",[17] and that its first holder should be Richard Dawkins.[18]
Since 1970 he has been a fellow of New College.[19] He has delivered a number of inaugural and other lectures, including the Henry Sidgwick Memorial Lecture (1989), first Erasmus Darwin Memorial Lecture (1990), Michael Faraday Lecture (1991), T. H. Huxley Memorial Lecture (1992), Irvine Memorial Lecture (1997), Sheldon Doyle Lecture (1999), Tinbergen Lecture (2004) and Tanner Lectures (2003).[7] In 1991 he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for Children. He has also served as editor of a number of journals, and has acted as editorial advisor to the Encarta Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Evolution. He is a senior editor of the Council for Secular Humanism's Free Inquiry magazine, for which he also writes a column. He has been a member of the editorial board of Skeptic magazine since its foundation.[20]
He has sat on judging panels for awards as diverse as the Royal Society's Faraday Award and the British Academy Television Awards,[7] and has been president of the Biological Sciences section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2004 Balliol College, Oxford instituted the Dawkins Prize, awarded for "outstanding research into the ecology and behaviour of animals whose welfare and survival may be endangered by human activities".[21] In September 2008, he retired from his professorship, announcing plans to "write a book aimed at youngsters in which he will warn them against believing in 'anti-scientific' fairytales."[22]
Personal life[link]
On 19 August 1967, Dawkins married fellow ethologist Marian Stamp in Annestown, County Waterford, Ireland;[23] they divorced in 1984. Later that same year, on 1 June, he married Eve Barham (19 August 1951[24]–28 February 1999) in Oxford. They had a daughter, Juliet Emma Dawkins (born 1984, Oxford).[24] Dawkins and Barham also divorced[25] and she later died of cancer.[26][27] In 1992 he married actress Lalla Ward[25] in Kensington and Chelsea, London.[24] Dawkins met her through their mutual friend Douglas Adams,[28] who had worked with her on the BBC's Doctor Who.
Work[link]
Evolutionary biology[link]
Further information: Gene-centred view of evolution
In his scientific works, Dawkins is best known for his popularisation of the gene-centred view of evolution. This view is most clearly set out in his books The Selfish Gene (1976), where he notes that "all life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities", and The Extended Phenotype (1982), in which he describes natural selection as "the process whereby replicators out-propagate each other".[29] In his role as an ethologist, interested in animal behaviour and its relation to natural selection, he advocates the idea that the gene is the principal unit of selection in evolution.
Dawkins has consistently been sceptical about non-adaptive processes in evolution (such as spandrels, described by Gould and Lewontin)[30] and about selection at levels "above" that of the gene.[31] He is particularly sceptical about the practical possibility or importance of group selection as a basis for understanding altruism.[32] This behaviour appears at first to be an evolutionary paradox, since helping others costs precious resources and decreases one's own fitness. Previously, many had interpreted this as an aspect of group selection: individuals were doing what was best for the survival of the population or species as a whole, and not specifically for themselves. British evolutionary biologist W. D. Hamilton had used the gene-centred view to explain altruism in terms of inclusive fitness and kin selection − that individuals behave altruistically toward their close relatives, who share many of their own genes.[33][a] Similarly, Robert Trivers, thinking in terms of the gene-centred model, developed the theory of reciprocal altruism, whereby one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future reciprocation.[34] Dawkins popularised these ideas in The Selfish Gene, and developed them in his own work.[35]
He has also been strongly critical of the Gaia philosophy theory of the independent scientist James Lovelock.[36][37][38]
Critics of Dawkins' approach suggest that taking the gene as the unit of selection − of a single event in which an individual either succeeds or fails to reproduce − is misleading, but that the gene could be better described as a unit of evolution − of the long-term changes in allele frequencies in a population.[39] In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains that he is using George C. Williams' definition of the gene as "that which segregates and recombines with appreciable frequency."[40] Another common objection is that genes cannot survive alone, but must cooperate to build an individual, and therefore cannot be an independent "unit".[41] In The Extended Phenotype, Dawkins suggests that because of genetic recombination and sexual reproduction, from an individual gene's viewpoint all other genes are part of the environment to which it is adapted.
Advocates for higher levels of selection such as Richard Lewontin, David Sloan Wilson, and Elliot Sober suggest that there are many phenomena (including altruism) that gene-based selection cannot satisfactorily explain. The philosopher Mary Midgley, with whom Dawkins clashed in print concerning The Selfish Gene,[42][43] has criticised gene selection, memetics and sociobiology as being excessively reductionist[44] and suggests that the popularity of Dawkins' work is due to factors in the Zeitgeist such as the increased individualism of the Thatcher/Reagan decades.[45]
In a set of controversies over the mechanisms and interpretation of evolution (the so-called 'Darwin Wars'),[46][47] one faction was often named after Dawkins and its rival after the American palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould, reflecting the pre-eminence of each as a populariser of pertinent ideas.[48][49] In particular, Dawkins and Gould have been prominent commentators in the controversy over sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, with Dawkins generally approving and Gould generally being critical.[50] A typical example of Dawkins' position was his scathing review of Not in Our Genes by Steven Rose, Leon J. Kamin and Richard C. Lewontin.[51] Two other thinkers on the subject often considered to be allied to Dawkins are Steven Pinker and Daniel Dennett; Dennett has promoted a gene-centred view of evolution and defended reductionism in biology.[52] Despite their academic disagreements, Dawkins and Gould did not have a hostile personal relationship, and Dawkins dedicated a large portion of his 2003 book A Devil's Chaplain posthumously to Gould, who had died the previous year.
Dawkins' book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution expounds the evidence for biological evolution.[53] All of his previous works dealing with evolution had assumed its truth, and not explicitly provided the evidence to this effect. Dawkins felt that this represented a gap in his oeuvre, and decided to write the book to coincide with Darwin's bicentennial year.[54]
Meme[link]
Main article: Meme
Dawkins coined the word meme (the behavioural equivalent of a gene) as a way to encourage readers to think about how Darwinian principles might be extended beyond the realm of genes.[55] Indeed, it was intended as an extension of his "replicators" argument, but it took on a life of its own in the hands of other authors such as Daniel Dennett and Susan Blackmore. These popularisations then led to the emergence of the field of memetics, from which he has distanced himself.[56]
Dawkins' memes refer to any cultural entity that an observer might consider a replicator of a certain idea or a complex of ideas. He hypothesised that people could view many cultural entities as capable of such replication, generally through exposure to humans, who have evolved as efficient (although not perfect) copiers of information and behaviour. Memes are not always copied perfectly, and might indeed become refined, combined or otherwise modified with other ideas, resulting in new memes, which may themselves prove more, or less, efficient replicators than their predecessors, thus providing a framework for a hypothesis of cultural evolution, analogous to the theory of biological evolution based on genes.[57]
Although Dawkins invented the specific term meme independently, he has not claimed that the idea itself was entirely novel,[58] and there have been other expressions for similar ideas in the past. For instance, John Laurent has suggested that the term may have derived from the work of the little-known German biologist Richard Semon.[59] In 1904 Semon published Die Mneme (which appeared in English in 1924 as The Mneme). This book discussed the cultural transmission of experiences, with insights parallel to those of Dawkins. Laurent also found the term mneme used in Maurice Maeterlinck's The Life of the White Ant (1926), and has highlighted the similarities to Dawkins' concept.[59] Author James Gleick describes Dawkins’ concept of the meme as "his most famous memorable invention, far more influential than his selfish genes or his later proselytizing against religiosity".[60]
Criticism of creationism[link]
Dawkins is a prominent critic of creationism (the religious belief that humanity, life and the universe were created by a deity,[61] without recourse to evolution[62]). He has described the Young Earth creationist view that the Earth is only a few thousand years old as "a preposterous, mind-shrinking falsehood",[63] and his 1986 book, The Blind Watchmaker, contains a sustained critique of the argument from design, an important creationist argument. In the book, Dawkins argued against the watchmaker analogy made famous by the 18th-century English theologian William Paley in his book Natural Theology. Paley argued that, just as a watch is too complicated and too functional to have sprung into existence merely by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Dawkins shares the view generally held by scientists that natural selection is sufficient to explain the apparent functionality and non-random complexity of the biological world, and can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, albeit as an automatic, nonintelligent, blind watchmaker.[64]
In 1986 Dawkins participated in an Oxford Union debate, in which he and English biologist John Maynard Smith debated Young Earth creationist A. E. Wilder-Smith and Edgar Andrews, president of the Biblical Creation Society.[b] In general, however, Dawkins has followed the advice of his late colleague Stephen Jay Gould and refused to participate in formal debates with creationists because "what they seek is the oxygen of respectability", and doing so would "give them this oxygen by the mere act of engaging with them at all". He suggests that creationists "don't mind being beaten in an argument. What matters is that we give them recognition by bothering to argue with them in public."[65]
In a December 2004 interview with American journalist Bill Moyers, Dawkins said that "among the things that science does know, evolution is about as certain as anything we know." When Moyers questioned him on the use of the word theory, Dawkins stated that "evolution has been observed. It's just that it hasn't been observed while it's happening." He added that "it is rather like a detective coming on a murder after the scene... the detective hasn't actually seen the murder take place, of course. But what you do see is a massive clue... Huge quantities of circumstantial evidence. It might as well be spelled out in words of English."[66]
Dawkins has ardently opposed the inclusion of intelligent design in science education, describing it as "not a scientific argument at all, but a religious one".[67] He has been referred to in the media as "Darwin's Rottweiler",[68] a reference to English biologist T. H. Huxley, who was known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's evolutionary ideas. He has been a strong critic of the British organisation Truth in Science, which promotes the teaching of creationism in state schools, and he plans—through the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science—to subsidise the delivery of books, DVDs and pamphlets to schools, in order to counteract what he has described as an "educational scandal".[69]
Advocacy of atheism[link]
Dawkins is an outspoken atheist and a prominent critic of religion. In an interview with Thomas Bass for a book published in 1994 he described himself as a "fairly militant atheist".[70] In 1996, when asked if he would prefer to be known as a scientist or a militant atheist, he replied "Bertrand Russell called himself the Passionate Sceptic. It's aiming high, but I'll shoot for that."[71] Dawkins is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society,[72] a vice-president of the British Humanist Association (since 1996),[7] a Distinguished Supporter of the Humanist Society of Scotland,[73] a member of the Secular Coalition for America advisory board,[74] a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism,[75] and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[76] In 2003 he became a signatory of the humanist manifesto Humanism and Its Aspirations, published by the American Humanist Association.[77] As a result of his advocacy of atheism, Dawkins has sometimes been described as a vocal, militant rationalist,[78][79] and as "the UK's Chief Atheist".[80]
Dawkins believes that his own atheism is the logical extension of his understanding of evolution[81] and that religion is largely incompatible with science.[82] In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, Dawkins wrote:
An atheist before Darwin could have said, following Hume: "I have no explanation for complex biological design. All I know is that God isn't a good explanation, so we must wait and hope that somebody comes up with a better one." I can't help feeling that such a position, though logically sound, would have left one feeling pretty unsatisfied, and that although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.[83]
In his 1991 essay "Viruses of the Mind" (from which the term faith-sufferer originated), he suggested that memetic theory might analyse and explain the phenomenon of religious belief and some of the common characteristics of religions, such as the belief that punishment awaits non-believers. According to Dawkins, faith − belief that is not based on evidence − is one of the world's great evils. He claims it to be analogous to the smallpox virus, though more difficult to eradicate.[84] Dawkins is well known for his contempt for religious extremism, from Islamist terrorism[85] to Christian fundamentalism; but he has also argued with liberal believers and religious scientists, from biologists Kenneth Miller[86] and Francis Collins[87] to theologians Alister McGrath and Richard Harries.[88] Dawkins has stated that his opposition to religion is twofold, claiming it to be both a source of conflict and a justification for belief without evidence.[89] However, he describes himself as a "cultural Christian",[90] and proposed the slogan "Atheists for Jesus".[91]
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks, when asked how the world might have changed, Dawkins responded:
Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful![92]
Dawkins has especially risen to prominence in contemporary public debates relating science and religion since the publication of his 2006 book The God Delusion, which has achieved greater sales figures worldwide than any of his other works to date. Its success has been seen by many as indicative of a change in the contemporary cultural zeitgeist, central to a recent rise in the popularity of atheistic literature.[93][94] The God Delusion was praised by among others the Nobel laureates Sir Harold Kroto and James D. Watson and by psychologist Steven Pinker.[95] In the book, Dawkins suggested that atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind.[96] He sees education and consciousness-raising as the primary tools in opposing what he considers to be religious dogma and indoctrination.[16][97][98] These tools include the fight against certain stereotypes, and he has adopted the term Bright as a way of associating positive public connotations with those who possess a naturalistic worldview.[98] Dawkins notes that feminists have succeeded in arousing widespread embarrassment at the routine use of "he" instead of "she". Similarly, he suggests, a phrase such as "Catholic child" or "Muslim child" should be considered just as socially absurd as, for instance, "Marxist child": children should not be classified based on their parents' ideological beliefs.[98] According to Dawkins, there is no such thing as a Christian child or a Muslim child, as children have about as much capacity to make the decision to become Christians or Muslims as they do to become Marxists.[96]
In January 2006 Dawkins presented a two-part television documentary The Root of All Evil?, addressing what he sees as the malignant influence of religion on society. The title itself is one that Dawkins disliked, noting that religion shouldn't be regarded as the root of all evil.[99] Critics have said that the programme gave too much time to marginal figures and extremists, and that Dawkins' confrontational style did not help his cause and exhibited similarities with the approaches of religious fundamentalists more than with the approaches of the dispassionate, analytic approach of 'hard' science;[100][101] Dawkins rejected these claims, citing the number of moderate religious broadcasts in everyday media as providing a suitable balance to the extremists in the programmes. He further remarked that someone who is deemed an "extremist" in a religiously moderate country may well be considered "mainstream" in a religiously conservative one.[102] The unedited recordings of Dawkins' conversations with Alister McGrath and Richard Harries, including material unused in the broadcast version, have been made available online by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.[103]
Dawkins' work has been controversial, and a number of Christian thinkers have responded to it. For example, Oxford theologian Alister McGrath (author of The Dawkins Delusion and Dawkins' God) maintains that Dawkins is ignorant of Christian theology and therefore unable to engage religion and faith intelligently.[104] In reply, Dawkins asks "do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in leprechauns?",[105] and − in the paperback edition of The God Delusion − he refers to the American biologist PZ Myers, who has satirised this line of argument as "The Courtier's Reply".[106] Dawkins had an extended debate with McGrath at the 2007 Sunday Times Literary Festival.[107]
Dawkins argues that "the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis like any other".[108] He disagrees with Stephen Jay Gould's principle of nonoverlapping magisteria. In an interview with Time magazine, Dawkins said:
I think that Gould's separate compartments was a purely political ploy to win middle-of-the-road religious people to the science camp. But it's a very empty idea. There are plenty of places where religion does not keep off the scientific turf. Any belief in miracles is flat contradictory not just to the facts of science but to the spirit of science.[109]
Astrophysicist Martin Rees, who has described himself as an unbeliever who identifies with Christianity from a cultural perspective, has suggested that Dawkins' attack on mainstream religion is unhelpful.[110] Regarding Rees' claim in his book Our Cosmic Habitat that "such questions lie beyond science", Dawkins asks "what expertise can theologians bring to deep cosmological questions that scientists cannot?"[111][112] Elsewhere, Dawkins has written that "there's all the difference in the world between a belief that one is prepared to defend by quoting evidence and logic, and a belief that is supported by nothing more than tradition, authority or revelation."[84] As examples of "good scientists who are sincerely religious", Dawkins names Arthur Peacocke, Russell Stannard, John Polkinghorne and Francis Collins, but says "I remain baffled ... by their belief in the details of the Christian religion."[113][114][115][116][117] He has said that the publication of The God Delusion is "probably the culmination" of his campaign against religion.[118]
In 2007 Dawkins founded the Out Campaign to encourage atheists worldwide to declare their stance publicly and proudly.[119] Inspired by the gay rights movement, Dawkins hopes that atheists' identifying of themselves as such, and thereby increasing public awareness of how many people hold these views, will reduce the negative opinion of atheism among the religious majority.[120][121]
In September 2008, following a complaint by Islamic creationist Adnan Oktar, a court in Turkey blocked access to Dawkins' website richarddawkins.net. The court decision was made due to "insult to personality".[122][123][124][125][126][127] As of 8 July 2011, richarddawkins.net is no longer blocked in Turkey.[128]
In October 2008, Dawkins officially supported the UK's first atheist advertising initiative, the Atheist Bus Campaign. Created by Guardian journalist Ariane Sherine and administered by the British Humanist Association the campaign aimed to raise funds to place atheist adverts on buses in the London area, and Dawkins pledged to match the amount raised by atheists, up to a maximum of £5,500. However, the campaign was an unprecedented success, raising over £100,000 in its first four days, and generating global press coverage.[129][130] The campaign, started in January 2009, features adverts across the UK with the slogan: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." Dawkins said that "this campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think—and thinking is anathema to religion."[131]
In 2010 Dawkins supported legal efforts to charge Pope Benedict XVI with crimes against humanity. Dawkins and fellow anti-religion campaigner Christopher Hitchens were believed to have explored the option of attempting to have the Pope arrested under the same legal principle that saw Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet arrested during a visit to Britain in 1998.[132]
Dawkins has given support to the idea of a "free thinking" school which he calls "Think for Yourself Academy".[133] The school would not "indoctrinate children in atheism, any more than in religion" but it would teach children to "ask for evidence, to be sceptical, critical, open-minded".[134][135]
On 15 September 2010, Dawkins, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the United Kingdom, while acknowledging his right to tour the UK as head of the Roman Catholic Church.[136]
Richard Dawkins Foundation[link]
Main article: Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
In 2006 Dawkins founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS), a non-profit organisation. The foundation is in developmental phase. It has been granted charitable status in the United Kingdom and the United States. RDFRS plans to finance research on the psychology of belief and religion, finance scientific education programs and materials, and publicise and support secular charitable organisations. The foundation also offers humanist, rationalist and scientific materials and information through its website.[137]
Dawkins has said the "trend toward theocratic thinking in the United States is a danger not only for America but for the entire world."[138] Connected to this concern, Dawkins invited Sean Faircloth to serve as opening speaker on Dawkins' 2011 US book tour. Faircloth is author of the book Attack of the Theocrats, How the Religious Right Harms Us All and What We Can Do About It. The Richard Dawkins Foundation (United States branch) later hired Faircloth, who has ten years experience as a state legislator, as Director of Strategy and Policy.[138]
Other fields[link]
In his role as professor for public understanding of science, Dawkins has been a critic of pseudoscience and alternative medicine. His 1998 book Unweaving the Rainbow takes John Keats' accusation that, by explaining the rainbow, Isaac Newton had diminished its beauty, and argues for the opposite conclusion. He suggests that deep space, the billions of years of life's evolution, and the microscopic workings of biology and heredity contain more beauty and wonder than do "myths" and "pseudoscience".[139] Dawkins wrote a foreword to John Diamond's posthumously published Snake Oil, a book devoted to debunking alternative medicine, in which he asserted that alternative medicine was harmful, if only because it distracted patients from more successful conventional treatments and gave people false hopes.[140] Dawkins states that "there is no alternative medicine. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work."[141]
Dawkins has expressed concern about the growth of the planet's human population and about the matter of overpopulation.[142] In The Selfish Gene, he briefly mentions population growth, giving the example of Latin America, whose population, at the time the book was written, was doubling every 40 years. He is critical of Roman Catholic attitudes to family planning and population control, stating that leaders who forbid contraception and "express a preference for 'natural' methods of population limitation" will get just such a method in the form of starvation.[143]
As a supporter of the Great Ape Project – a movement to extend certain moral and legal rights to all great apes – Dawkins contributed the article "Gaps in the Mind" to the Great Ape Project book edited by Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer. In this essay, he criticises contemporary society's moral attitudes as being based on a "discontinuous, speciesist imperative".[144]
Dawkins also regularly comments in newspapers and weblogs on contemporary political questions; his opinions include opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq,[145] the British nuclear deterrent and the actions of US President George W. Bush.[146] Several such articles were included in A Devil's Chaplain, an anthology of writings about science, religion and politics. He is also a supporter of the Republic campaign to replace the British monarchy with a democratically elected president.[147] Dawkins has described himself as a Labour voter in the 1970s[148] and voter for the Liberal Democrats since the party's creation.[149] In 2009 he spoke at the party's conference in opposition to blasphemy laws, alternative medicine and faith schools. In the UK general election of 2010, Dawkins officially endorsed the Liberal Democrats, in support of their campaign for electoral reform and for their "refusal to pander to 'faith'."[150]
In the 2007 TV documentary The Enemies of Reason,[151] Dawkins discusses what he sees as the dangers of abandoning critical thought and rationale based upon scientific evidence. He specifically cites astrology, spiritualism, dowsing, alternative faiths, alternative medicine and homoeopathy. He also discusses how the Internet can be used to spread religious hatred and conspiracy theories with scant attention to evidence-based reasoning.
Continuing a long-standing partnership with Channel 4, Dawkins participated in a five-part television series Genius of Britain, along with fellow scientists Stephen Hawking, James Dyson, Paul Nurse, and Jim Al-Khalili. The five-episode series was broadcast in June 2010.[152] The series focussed on major British scientific achievements throughout history.
Dawkins presented a More4 documentary entitled Faith School Menace? in which he argued for "us to reconsider the consequences of faith education, which... bamboozles parents and indoctrinates and divides children."[153][154]
In 1998 Dawkins expressed his appreciation for two books, famous for their criticism of postmodernism in US universities, in departments like literary studies, anthropology and other cultural studies; the two books are Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science (by Gross and Levitt) and Intellectual Impostures (by Sokal and Bricmont), both related to the Sokal affair hoax.[155] In the same occasion Dawkins also criticised Cambridge University for awarding philosopher Jacques Derrida an honorary doctorate.[155]
In 2011 Dawkins joined the professoriate of the New College of the Humanities, a new private university in London established by A. C. Grayling, which is scheduled to open in September 2012.[156]
Awards and recognition[link]
Dawkins was awarded a Doctor of Science by the University of Oxford in 1989. He holds honorary doctorates in science from the University of Huddersfield, University of Westminster, Durham University,[157] the University of Hull, the University of Antwerp, and the University of Oslo,[158] and honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen,[159] Open University, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel,[7] and the University of Valencia.[160] He also holds honorary doctorates of letters from the University of St Andrews and the Australian National University (HonLittD, 1996), and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1997 and the Royal Society in 2001.[7] He is one of the patrons of the Oxford University Scientific Society.
In 1987 Dawkins received a Royal Society of Literature award and a Los Angeles Times Literary Prize for his book, The Blind Watchmaker. In the same year, he received a Sci. Tech Prize for Best Television Documentary Science Programme of the Year, for the BBC Horizon episode The Blind Watchmaker.[7]
His other awards have included the Zoological Society of London Silver Medal (1989), Finlay innovation award (1990), the Michael Faraday Award (1990), the Nakayama Prize (1994), the American Humanist Association's Humanist of the Year Award (1996), the fifth International Cosmos Prize (1997), the Kistler Prize (2001), the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic (2001), the Bicentennial Kelvin Medal of The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow (2002)[7] and the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest (2009).[161]
Dawkins topped Prospect magazine's 2004 list of the top 100 public British intellectuals, as decided by the readers, receiving twice as many votes as the runner-up.[162][163] He has been short-listed as a candidate in their 2008 follow-up poll.[164] In 2005 the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded him its Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his "concise and accessible presentation of scientific knowledge". He won the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science for 2006 and the Galaxy British Book Awards Author of the Year Award for 2007.[165] In the same year, he was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007,[166] and he was ranked 20th in The Daily Telegraph's 2007 list of 100 greatest living geniuses.[167] He was awarded the Deschner Award, named after German anti-clerical author Karlheinz Deschner.[168]
Since 2003, the Atheist Alliance International has awarded a prize during its annual conference, honouring an outstanding atheist whose work has done most to raise public awareness of atheism during that year. It is known as the Richard Dawkins Award, in honour of Dawkins' own work.[169]
In February 2010 he was named to the Freedom From Religion Foundation's Honorary Board of distinguished achievers.[170]
Media[link]
Selected publications[link]
Main article: List of publications by Richard Dawkins
- The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1976. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
- The Extended Phenotype. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1982. ISBN 0-19-288051-9.
- The Blind Watchmaker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1986. ISBN 0-393-31570-3.
- River Out of Eden. New York: Basic Books. 1995. ISBN 0-465-06990-8.
- Climbing Mount Improbable. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 1996. ISBN 0-393-31682-3.
- Unweaving the Rainbow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998. ISBN 0-618-05673-4.
- A Devil's Chaplain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2003. ISBN 0-618-33540-4.
- The Ancestor's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2004. ISBN 0-618-00583-8.
- The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2006. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. Free Press (United States), Transworld (United Kingdom and Commonwealth). 2009. ISBN 0-593-06173-X.
- The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True. Free Press (United States), Bantam Press (United Kingdom). 2011. ISBN 978-1-4391-9281-8. OCLC 709673132. [171]
Documentary films[link]
- Nice Guys Finish First (1986)
- The Blind Watchmaker (1987)[172]
- Growing Up in the Universe (1991)
- Break the Science Barrier (1996)
- The Root of All Evil? (2006)
- The Enemies of Reason (2007)
- The Genius of Charles Darwin (2008)
- Faith School Menace? (2010)
Other appearances[link]
- Doctor Who: "The Stolen Earth" (2008) – as himself
- Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) – as himself
- The Purpose of Purpose (2009) – Lecture tour among American universities
- Beautiful Minds (April 2012) – BBC4 documentary
Notes[link]
a. ^ W. D. Hamilton hugely influenced Dawkins and the influence can be seen throughout Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene.[16] They became friends at Oxford and following Hamilton's death in 2000, Dawkins wrote his obituary and organised a secular memorial service.[173]
b. ^ The debate ended with the motion "That the doctrine of creation is more valid than the theory of evolution" being defeated by 198 votes to 115.[174][175]
References[link]
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- ^ Dawkins, Richard (11 November 2001). "Has the world changed?". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/11/afghanistan.terrorism2. Retrieved 2006-01-29.
- ^ Odoyo, Peter (16 July 2007). "The Death of Religion And Rise of Atheism in the West". The Nation. http://allafrica.com/stories/200707160152.html. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Burkowitz, Peter (16 July 2007). "The New Atheism". The Wall Street Journal. http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010341. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "The God Delusion — Reviews". RichardDawkins.net. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080702000504/http://richarddawkins.net/godDelusionReviews. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ a b Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. p. 3. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Smith, Alexandra (27 November 2006). "Dawkins campaigns to keep God out of classroom". London: The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1958138,00.html. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
- ^ a b c Dawkins, Richard (21 June 2003). "The future looks bright". London: The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,981412,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Dawkins (2006: 23)
- ^ Jacobson, Howard (21 January 2006). "Nothing like an unimaginative scientist to get non-believers running back to God". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/howard-jacobson/howard-jacobson-nothing-like-an-unimaginative-scientist-to-get-nonbelievers-running-back-to-god-523917.html. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
- ^ Ferguson, Ron (19 January 2006). "What a lazy way to argue against God". The Herald. Archived from the original on 29 January 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080129021847/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/971452711.html?did=971452711&FMT=ABS&FMTS=FT&date=Jan+19%2C+2006&author=RON+FERGUSON&pub=The+Herald&desc=What+a+lazy+way+to+argue+against+God. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (30 January 2006). "Diary — Richard Dawkins". New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/200601300002. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins and Alister McGrath Root of All Evil? Uncut Interviews". RichardDawkins.net. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071012023424/http://richarddawkins.net/article,1212,Richard-Dawkins-and-Alister-McGrath,Root-of-All-Evil-Uncut-Interviews. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ McGrath, Alister (2004). Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 1-4051-2538-1.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (17 September 2007). "Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?". RichardDawkins.net. http://richarddawkins.net/articleComments,1647,Do-you-have-to-read-up-on-leprechology-before-disbelieving-in-them,Richard-Dawkins-The-Independent,page27. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ Myers, PZ (24 December 2006). "The Courtier's Reply". Pharyngula. http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2006/12/the_courtiers_reply.php. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ Cole, Judith (26 March 2007). "Richard Dawkins at The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/podcasts/books/article1570989.ece. Retrieved 2008-03-04. [dead link]
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. p. 50. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Van Biema, David (5 November 2006). "God vs. Science (3)". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132-3,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Jha, Alok (29 May 2007). "Scientists divided over alliance with religion". London: The Guardian. http://books.guardian.co.uk/hay2007/story/0,,2089947,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). "When Religion Steps on Science's Turf". Free Inquiry magazine. http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/dawkins_18_2.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.. p. 99. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.
- ^ Crace, John (10 January 2006). "Richard Dawkins: Beyond belief". London: The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/profile/story/0,11109,1682655,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Ruse, Michael (2000). "Double-Dealing in Darwin". Beliefnet. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/7/story_762_1.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "Belief — radio interview". BBC Radio. 2004. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/belief/scripts/dawkins.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ "The Atheist: interview with Gordy Slack". Salon.com. 28 April 2005. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Bearder, Tim (24 March 2006). "BBC Oxford interview". FT Magazine. http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2006/03/24/dawkins.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ "The Out Campaign (original announcement)". RichardDawkins.net. 30 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080430213003/http://richarddawkins.net/article,1471,The-Out-Campaign,Richard-Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Chittenden, Maurice; Waite, Roger (23 December 2007). "Dawkins to preach atheism to US". London: The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3087486.ece. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (24 October 2007). "Richard Dawkins speech at Atheist Alliance International Convention 2007". The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. RichardDawkins.net. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2936455252329399558&hl=en. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Gledhill, Ruth (19 September 2008). "Dawkins website banned in Turkey". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4790039.ece. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ Hooper, Rowan (19 September 2008). "Turkey bans evolutionist's website". New Scientist Blogs. http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/09/turkey-bans-dawkins-website.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Butt, Riazat (19 September 2008). "Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/19/religion.turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Staff writer (17 September 2008). "Evolutionist Dawkins' Internet Site Banned In Turkey". Bianet. http://bianet.org/english/kategori/english/109778/evolutionist-dawkins-internet-site-banned-in-turkey. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Arpa, Yasemin (17 September 2008). "Evrimci yazarın sitesini Adnan Oktar kapattırdı" (in Turkish). NTV-MSNBC. http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/459522.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ^ Ozimek, John (22 September 2008). "The Turkish court bans Dawkins' website". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/22/turkey_bans_dawkins_website/. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ "RD.net no longer banned in Turkey!". The Richard Dawkins Foundation. http://richarddawkins.net/articles/642074-rd-net-no-longer-banned-in-turkey. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- ^ Ariane Sherine (22 October 2008). "All aboard the atheist bus campaign". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/21/religion-advertising. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Ariane Sherine (23 October 2008). "'Probably' the best atheist bus campaign ever". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/23/atheist-bus-campaign-ariane-sherine. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Riazat Butt (22 October 2008). "Arriving soon: atheist bus campaign gets off to a flying start". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/oct/22/religion-atheist-dawkins-god. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Marc Horne (11 April 2010). "'Richard Dawkins calls for arrest of Pope Benedict XVI' by UPDATE 4–12 Marc Horne – TimesOnline". Times Online. http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5415. Retrieved 2010-06-11. (also on Dawkins' blog)
- ^ Powell, Michael (19 September 2011). "A Knack for Bashing Orthodoxy". The New York Times: p. 4. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/science/20dawkins.html. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ Beckford, Martin (24 June 2010). "Richard Dawkins interested in setting up 'atheist free school'". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7849563/Richard-Dawkins-interested-in-setting-up-atheist-free-school.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Garner, Richard (2010-07-29). "Gove welcomes atheist schools – Education News, Education". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/gove-welcomes-atheist-schools-2037990.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Letters: Harsh judgments on the pope and religion". The Guardian (London). 15 September 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/15/harsh-judgments-on-pope-religion. Retrieved 16 September 2010. "...the pope, as ... the leader of a religion with many adherents in the UK, is of course free to enter and tour our country. However, as well as a religious leader, the pope is a head of state..."
- ^ "Our Mission". The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061117150429/http://www.richarddawkins.net/foundation,ourMission. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
- ^ a b "Sean Faircloth joins RDFRS (US) as Director of Strategy and Policy". The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. http://richarddawkins.net/articles/643044-sean-faircloth-joins-rdfrs-us-as-director-of-strategy-and-policy. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1998). Unweaving The Rainbow. United Kingdom: Penguin. pp. 4–7. ISBN 0-618-05673-4.
- ^ Diamond, John (2001). Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations. United Kingdom: Vintage. ISBN 0-09-942833-4.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2003). A Devil's Chaplain. United States: Houghton Mifflin. p. 58. ISBN 0-618-33540-4.
- ^ "The Selfish Green". RichardDawkins.net. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080501094048/http://richarddawkins.net/article,829,The-Selfish-Green,Jonathan-Dimbleby-David-Attenborough-Richard-Dawkins-Jane-Goodall-Richard-Leakey. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1989). The Selfish Gene (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
- ^ edited by Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer.; Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer (1993). The Great Ape Project. United Kingdom: Fourth Estate. ISBN 0-312-11818-X.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (22 March 2003). "Bin Laden's victory". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/mar/22/iraq.usa. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (18 November 2003). "While we have your attention, Mr President...". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/nov/18/usa.politics1. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
- ^ "Our supporters". Republic. 24 April 2010. http://www.republic.org.uk/Who%20we%20are/Our%20Supporters%20Include/index.php. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (1989). "Endnotes. Chapter 1. Why are people?". The Selfish Gene (1st extra chapter) (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-286092-5.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins: Keep Libel Laws OUT of Science". youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqVm-WmFzyU. Retrieved 2009-12-12. [dead link]
- ^ "Show your support – vote for the Liberal Democrats on May 6th. libdems.org.uk. Monday, 03 May 2010". Libdems.org.uk. http://libdems.org.uk/latest_news_detail.aspx?title=Show_your_support_-_vote_for_the_Liberal_Democrats_on_May_6th&pPK=9dd43be1-d11a-40b1-8ede-3acab3666d48. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "The Enemies of Reason". Channel 4. August 2007. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/E/enemies_of_reason/. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ^ "C4 lines up Genius science series". Broadcast. 2009. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/01/dawkins_to_front_c4_science_series.html. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ^ "Faith School Menace? – Faith School Menace?". Channel 4. 18 August 2010. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/faith-school-menace/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ Sutcliffe, Tom (19 August 2010). "Last Night's TV: Faith Schools Menace?/More 4 – Reviews, TV & Radio". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/last-nights-tv-faith-schools-menacemore-4-2056104.html. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ a b Dawkins, Richard. "Postmodernism Disrobed". http://physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/dawkins.html. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
- ^ New university to rival Oxbridge will charge £18,000 a year Sunday Telegraph 5-Jun-2011
- ^ "Durham salutes science, Shakespeare and social inclusion". Durham News & Events Service. 26 August 2005. http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/allnews/?itemno=3972. Retrieved 2006-04-11.
- ^ "Æresdoktorer i 2011 - Universitetet i Oslo" (in (Norwegian)). Uio.no. http://www.uio.no/om/tall-og-fakta/aresdoktorer/eresdoktorer-2011.html. Retrieved 2011-10-22. [dead link]
- ^ Best-selling biologist and outspoken atheist among those honoured by University, University of Aberdeen.
- ^ "Richard Dawkins, doctor 'honoris causa' per la Universitat de València". 31 March 2009. http://www.uv.es/~webuv/noticies/noticia.php?idnoticia=7165. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ Scripps Institution of Oceanography (7 April 2009). "Scripps Institution of Oceanography Honors Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins, in Public Ceremony and Lecture". Scripps Institution of Oceanography. http://scrippsnews.ucsd.edu/Releases/?releaseID=967. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ "Q&A: Richard Dawkins". BBC News. 29 July 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3935757.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Herman, David (2004). "Public Intellectuals Poll". Prospect magazine. http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2004/08/publicintellectualspoll/. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ "The Top 100 Public Intellectuals". Prospect magazine. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4262. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "Galaxy British Book Awards — Winners & Shortlists 2007". Publishing News. 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927130727/http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/pnbb_winners2007.asp?#3. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
- ^ Behe, Michael (3 May 2007). "Time Top 100". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616137,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
- ^ "Top 100 living geniuses". The Daily Telegraph. 28 October 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1567544/Top-100-living-geniuses.html. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ Giordano Bruno Stiftung (28 May 2007). "Deschner-Preis an Richard Dawkins". Humanistischer Pressedienst. http://hpd-online.de/node/2010. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ Slack, Gordy (30 April 2005). "The atheist". Salon. http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/30/dawkins/index.html. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Honorary FFRF Board Announced". http://ffrf.org/news/releases/honorary-ffrf-board-announced/. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ ""The Magic of Reality - new book by Richard Dawkins this Fall" 10 May 2011". Richarddawkins.net. 10 May 2011. http://richarddawkins.net/articles/625578. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ Staff. "BBC Educational and Documentary: Blind Watchmaker". BBC. http://www.bbcactive.com/BroadCastLearning/asp/catalogue/productdetail.asp?productcode=207. Retrieved 2 December 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (3 October 2000). "Obituary by Richard Dawkins". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080318185801/http://www.unifr.ch/biol/ecology/hamilton/hamilton.html#Dawkins. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Critical-Historical Perspective on the Argument about Evolution and Creation, John Durant, in "From Evolution to Creation: A European Perspective (Eds. Sven Anderson, Arthus Peacocke), Aarhus Univ. Press, Aarhus, Denmark
- ^ "1986 Oxford Union Debate: Richard Dawkins, John Maynard Smith". RichardDawkins.net. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071013161954/http://richarddawkins.net/article,721,1986-Oxford-Union-Debate,Richard-Dawkins-John-Maynard-Smith. Retrieved 2007-05-10. Debate downloadable as MP3 files.
External links[link]
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Book: Richard Dawkins |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Richard Dawkins |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Dawkins |
General
- Official website
- The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
- Richard Dawkins at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by or about Richard Dawkins in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Richard Dawkins collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Richard Dawkins collected news and commentary at The New York Times
Video
- National Geographic Interviews – A series of video interviews with National Geographic Channel with Richard Dawkins on Darwin, Evolution and God.
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Richard Dawkins on Charlie Rose
- Richard Dawkins at TED Conferences
- Video interview with Riz Khan for Al Jazeera English
- Video interview at Big Think
Selected writings
- Viruses of the Mind (1993) – Religion as a mental virus.
- The Real Romance in the Stars (1995) – A critical view of astrology.
- The Emptiness of Theology at RDFRS.(1998) – A critical view of theology.
- Snake Oil and Holy Water (1999) – suggests that there is no convergence occurring between science and theism.
- What Use is Religion? (2004) – suggests that religion may have no survival value other than to itself.
- Race and Creation (2004) – On race, its usage and a theory of how it evolved.
- The giant tortoise's tale, The turtle's tale and The lava lizard's tale (2005) – A series of three articles written after a visit to the Galápagos Islands.
- Dawkins' Huffington Post articles
Audio
- 2011 Interview on io9's Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast
- Richard Dawkins on RadioLIVE's Weekend Variety Wireless – Richard Dawkins appears live on New Zealand's Radio Live, taking calls from the audience.
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dawkins, Richard |
| Alternative names | Dawkins, Clinton Richard |
| Short description | British evolutionary biologist, ethologist, atheist, humanist and sceptic |
| Date of birth | 26 March 1941 |
| Place of birth | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Richard_Dawkins
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| James Randi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Randall James Hamilton Zwinge (1928-08-07) August 7, 1928 (age 83) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian American |
| Occupation | Magician, illusionist, writer, skeptic |
| Religion | None (atheist)[1] |
| Website | |
| www.randi.org | |
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928[2]) is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic[3][4] best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician named The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he began investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo".[5]
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator".[6] He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!. The JREF sponsors The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge offering a prize of US$1,000,000 to eligible applicants[7] who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties.[8]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Randi was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and has a younger brother and sister.[9] He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone, Sr[10] and reading magic books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors who expected he would never walk again.[11] Although a brilliant student, Randi often skipped school, and he dropped out of high school at 17 to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow.[12] In his twenties, Randi posed as a psychic to establish that they were actually doing simple tricks and briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran," by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column.[13][14] In his thirties, Randi worked in Philippine night clubs and all across Japan.[15] He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences is that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead"[16] routine to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.[17]
Career[link]
Magician[link]
File:RandiFork.jpg
Fork bent by Randi
Randi worked as a professional stage magician, or "conjurer" as he prefers to be called,[18] and escapologist beginning in 1946, initially under his birth name, Randall Zwinge, and then as The Amazing Randi. Early in his career, Randi was part of numerous stunts involving his escape from jail cells and safes. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on The Today Show, remaining in a sealed metal coffin submerged in a hotel swimming pool for 104 minutes, breaking what was said to be Houdini's record of 93 minutes.[19][20]
Randi was the host of The Amazing Randi Show on New York radio station WOR in the mid 1960s.[21] This radio show, which filled Long John Nebel's old slot with similar content after Nebel went to WNBC in 1962, had frequent pro-paranormal guests, including Randi's then-friend James Moseley. Randi, in turn, spoke at Moseley's 1967 Fourth Congress of Scientific Ufologists in New York City,[22] stating, "Let's not fool ourselves. There are some garden variety liars involved in all this. But in among all the trash and nonsense perpetrated in the name of Ufology, I think there is a small grain of truth."[23]
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. Then Randi appeared as "The Amazing Randi" on a television show titled Wonderama from 1967 to 1972,[24] and as host of a failed revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown in 1970.[25] In the February 2, 1974, issue of Abracadabra (a British conjuring magazine), Randi defined the magic community, saying, "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of The International Brotherhood of Magicians, Points to Ponder: Another Matter of Ethics, p. 97, it is stated, "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 tour, Randi performed as the dentist and executioner on stage,[26] and designed and built several of the stage props, including the guillotine.[27][28] Shortly after that, in February 1975, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls in the winter on the Canadian TV program World of Wizards.[29]
Randi was once accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. James Alcock relates this incident, which occurred at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller: A professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said, "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it."[30] The famous author and believer in spiritualism Arthur Conan Doyle had years earlier made a similar accusation against the magician Harry Houdini.[31] A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell believed in psychic phenomena. When Randi demonstrated viewing a hidden drawing by using trickery, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying, "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi has consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.[32]
Author[link]
Randi is author of Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled: Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC!. The book selects the most influential magicians and explains their history in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on the 1976 book Houdini, His Life and Art, co-authored with Bert Randolph Sugar, which focused on Houdini and his cohorts. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about the paranormal and pseudoscientific. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science,[33] though in January 2011, he expressed doubts as to whether it would be finished. James Randi has since confirmed the that the book will be sent to publishers by May 20, 2012.[34] He is a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers the Black Widowers.[35]
Skeptic[link]
File:Thetruthuri.jpg
James Randi's The Truth About Uri Geller (1982)
Randi entered the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. Randi accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he supported his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller.[17][36] Geller sued Randi for $15 million in 1991 and lost.[37] Geller's suit against the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit.[38]
Randi was a founding fellow and prominent member of CSICOP.[39] During the period when Geller was filing numerous civil suits against him, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, requested that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned. However, he still maintains a respectful relationship with the group and frequently writes articles for its magazine.
Randi has gone on to write several books criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal.[40] He has also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi revealed that he had been able to orchestrate a three-year-long compromise of a privately funded psychic research experiment.[41] The hoax became a scandal and demonstrated the shortcomings of many paranormal research projects at the university level.
Randi has appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite psychic James Hydrick, who claimed that he could move things with his mind and demonstrated this ability on live television by apparently turning a page in a telephone book without touching it.[42] Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged packaging peanuts (polystyrene foam shapes) on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration, preventing Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging.[43] Many years later, Hydrick admitted his fraud.[44]
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Genius award in 1986. The money was used for Randi's comprehensive exposé of faith healers, including Peter Popoff, W.V. Grant and Ernest Angley. When Popoff was exposed, he was forced to declare bankruptcy within the year.[45]
In 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a spirit channeler named Carlos who was actually artist Jose Alvarez, a friend of Randi's. Randi would tell him what to say through sophisticated radio equipment. The media and the public were taken in, as no reporter bothered to check Carlos's credentials and history, which were all fabricated. The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes; Carlos and Randi explained how they pulled it off.[46][47]
In the book The Faith Healers, Randi explains his anger and relentlessness as arising out of compassion for the helpless victims of frauds. Randi has also been critical of João de Deus (John of God), a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who has received international attention.[48] Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."[49]
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia physician who is able to determine the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the groove on the record. However, Lintgen does not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.[50]
James Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who allegedly could play an accordion that was locked in a cage, without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the episodes were never made public, and that the accordion in question was a one-octave mouth organ that Home concealed under his large moustache. James Randi writes that one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death.[51] According to Randi 'around 1960' William Lindsay Gresham told Randi he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research.[52] Eric Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public."[53]
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)[link]
Main article: James Randi Educational Foundation
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi and his colleagues update JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle. Randi also contributes a regular column, titled "'Twas Brillig," to The Skeptics Society's Skeptic Magazine. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gives examples of what he considers the nonsense that he deals with every day.[54]
He has regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality[55][56] and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry.[57] From September 2006 onwards, he has occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column titled "Randi Speaks."[58] In addition, "The Amazing Show" is a podcast in which Randi shares various anecdotes in an interview format.
Views on religion[link]
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identifies himself as an atheist,[1] has stated that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. For example, Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the earth without committing incest." He writes that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And more fun."[59] In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, he looks at a variety of spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji (Prem Rawat) he writes: "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret."[60]
The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge[link]
Main article: The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) currently offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars to eligible applicants who can demonstrate a supernatural ability under agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. Similar to the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, in 1964, Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal.[61] Since then, the prize money has grown to the current $1,000,000, and has formal published rules. No one has progressed past the preliminary test, which is set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refuses to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed.[62] Then Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live on September 3, 2001, and she again accepted the challenge.[63] However, she has refused to be tested and Randi keeps a clock on his website recording the number of weeks that have passed since Browne accepted the challenge without following through.[64] During Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea to undergo testing for the million dollars. However, Altea would not even address the question.[65] Instead Altea, in part, replied "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere."[65] Then on January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on Larry King Live. Once again, she refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.[66]
Starting on April 1, 2007, only those with an already existing media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge.[67] The resources freed up by not having to test obscure and possibly mentally ill claimants will then be used to more aggressively challenge notorious high-profile alleged psychics and mediums such as Sylvia Browne, Allison DuBois and John Edward with a campaign in the media.[67]
JREF maintains a public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge.[68]
Legal disputes[link]
Randi has been involved in a variety of legal disputes but claims that he has "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me."[5] However, he says, he has paid out large sums to personally defend himself in these suits.
Eldon Byrd[link]
A Baltimore District Court found Randi liable for defaming Byrd for calling him a "convicted child molester" because, although Byrd had been found guilty of child pornography offences and admitted to molestation, the admission was part of a plea bargain so he was not actually convicted.[69] No damages were awarded to Byrd.[70]
Uri Geller[link]
According to Randi, Geller tried to sue Randi a number of times,[why?] but never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one third of one percent of what Geller had demanded, but this ruling was canceled, and the matter dropped when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.[71][72]
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
In 1991, Randi commented that Uri Geller's public performances were of the same quality as those found on the backs of cereal boxes. Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages to CSICOP.[73][74] Randi and Geller subsequently settled their dispute out of court, the details of which have been kept confidential. The settlement also included an agreement that Geller would not pursue Randi for the award in the Japanese case or other outstanding cases.
Other[link]
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission.[75] Randi removed the photo and now uses a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.[76]
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley.[77] Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite prodding Randi via Usenet to sue (Curley's comments had implied that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true), Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51.[78]
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost.[79] Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.[79]
Personal life[link]
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States.[80] Randi has said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while on tour with Alice Cooper where the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance. Nothing was found, yet the RCMP destroyed the room.[81]
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery.[82] In early February 2006, he was declared to be in stable condition and "receiving excellent care" with his recovery proceeding well. The weekly commentary updates to his website were made by guests while he was hospitalized.[83] Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend the 2007 Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada (an annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers).[84]
Randi was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in June 2009.[85] He had a ping pong ball-sized tumor removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced this a week later at the July 2009 The Amazing Meeting as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks.[86] He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."[86] Randi also said that after he is gone he does not want his fans to bother with a museum of magic named after him or burying him in a fancy tomb. Instead, he said, "I want to be cremated, and I want my ashes blown in Uri Geller's eyes."[86] Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session on December 31, 2009, as he explained in a January 12, 2010 video in which he related that his chemotherapy experience was not as unpleasant as he had imagined.[85] In a video posted April 12, 2010, Randi stated that he has been given a clean bill of health.[3]
In a March 21, 2010, blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he explained was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk, in which Sean Penn portrayed Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.[87][88]
Awards and honors[link]
- In 1981, asteroid 3163 Randi was named after Randi, who has always been an active amateur observer. His friend Carl Sagan encouraged his interest.[11]
- MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for his investigations of the claims of Uri Geller and TV "faith healers." 1986[89]
- American Physical Society Joseph A. Burton Forum Award 1989[90]
- Richard Dawkins Award 2003
- Philip J. Klass Award 2007[91]
- Independent Investigations Group (IIG) awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award, August 2007. Previous recipients Carl Sagan and Harry Houdini.[92]
- Committee for Skeptical Inquiry In Praise of Reason Award, 2009
- Elected a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Fellow, 2010[93]
- Academy of Magical Arts Lifetime Achievement Fellowship, April 2012[94]
World records[link]
The following are Guinness records:
- Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for an hour and 44 minutes, which broke Harry Houdini's record of one hour and 33 minutes set on August 5, 1926.[11]
- Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.[11]
Bibliography[link]
- An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, 1995, St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-15119-5 OCLC 32167512 (Online Version)
- Conjuring, 1992 St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-09771-9
- Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions, 1982, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-198-3
- Houdini, His Life and Art. Co-authored. Putnam Pub Group (November 1976) ISBN 0-448-12552-8
- James Randi: Psychic Investigator, 1991, companion book to the UK Granada TV series. ISBN 1-85283-144-8
- Test Your ESP Potential. Dover Publications Inc. (December 31, 1982) ISBN 0-486-24269-2
- The Faith Healers, 1987, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-369-2. (ISBN 0-87975-535-0 1989 edition) (Foreword by Carl Sagan)
- The Magic of Uri Geller, 1982, ISBN 0-345-24796-5 (later renamed The Truth About Uri Geller ISBN 0-87975-199-1)
- The Magic World of the Amazing Randi. Adams Media Corporation (September 1989) ISBN 1-55850-982-8
- The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer, 1990, Charles Scribner's Sons ISBN 0-684-19056-7 or ISBN 0-87975-830-9.
- Wrong! (Forthcoming[95])
- A Magician in the Laboratory. (Forthcoming[95])
TV and film[link]
Actor[link]
- Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
- Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
- Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
- Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
- Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Himself[link]
- Wonderama (1955) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
- I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
- Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
- Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008) "De trucs van Char, het medium – 23 maart 2008: ZEMBLA:". http://zembla.vara.nl/Voorpagina.1975.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5316&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1974&cHash=0e36f258ac.
- ZDF German TV (2007)
- Wild Wild Web (1999)
- West 57th (1980s)
- Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
- Today on NBC (1980s)
- The Don Lane Show (1980)
- That's My Line (1980) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
- The View ABC TV (1999)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993)
- The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
- The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
- People are Talking (1980s)
- The Patterson Show (1970s)
- The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
- The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
- Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
- Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
- Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
- Raitre TV Italy (1991)
- Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
- Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
- End of the World (2003) TV Episode
- ESP (2003) TV Episode
- Signs from Heaven (2005) TV Episode
- Oprah Winfrey
- Lawrence Leung Unbelievable TV Episode
- NOVA: Secrets of the Psychics (1993)
- Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
- Midday Show (Australia) (1990s)
- Magic or Miracle (1983)
- Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
- Larry King Live of CNN (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, and January 26, 2007)
- James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
- James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary (free download for schools)
- Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
- Horizon – Homeopathy: The Test (2002) TV Episode
- Houdini Dead Men Talking (Biography Channel)
- Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage)
- Extraordinary People – The Million Dollar Mind Reader (September 2008)."home – extraordinary people". five.tv. http://www.five.tv/programmes/extraordinarypeople/. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- Exploring Psychic Powers Live (June 7, 1989) (Hosted by Bill Bixby)
- CBS This Morning (1990s)
- Anderson Cooper 360, CNN (January 19, 2007 and January 30, 2007)
- A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
- 20/20 ABC TV (May 11, 2007) Avila, Jim (May 11, 2007). "Selling Salvation?". 20/20. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3164858&page=1. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
- Dilbert (TV series) parodied in "The Infomercial" (1999) TV Episode
Other media[link]
James Randi can be heard speaking an introduction on Tommy Finkes song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes", released on the album of the same name in 2010. The message was recorded by James Randi and sent to Tommy Finke via email.[96]
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ a b Randi, James. "Our Stance on Atheism", "Swift", JREF, August 5, 2005, Accessed January 27, 2011.
- ^ H.W. Wilson Company (1987). Current Biography Yearbook. Silverplatter International. p. 455.
- ^ "Sullivan", Walter (July 27, 1988). "Water That Has a Memory? Skeptics Win Second Round". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/27/us/water-that-has-a-memory-skeptics-win-second-round.html.
- ^ Cohen, Patricia (February 17, 2001). "Poof! You’re a Skeptic: The Amazing Randi’s Vanishing Humbug". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/17/arts/17RAND.html. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Randi, James (February 9, 2007). "More Geller Woo-Woo". SWIFT Newsletter. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i6. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
- ^ One-Million-Dollar Challenge from MIT Media Lab: Affective Computing Group
- ^ JREF Challenge Application Form, Rule 12, accessed November 23, 2010
- ^ "One Million Dollar Challenge – Challenge Info". James Randi Educational Foundation. October 30, 2008. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Randi, James (May 9, 2008). "How Wrong Can You Get?". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/192-swift-may-9-2008.html#i3. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJMTyK0VfdY&feature=g-u&context=G2f4081cFUAAAAAAASAA
- ^ a b c d Orwen, Patricia (August 23, 1986). "The Amazing Randi". The Toronto Star.
- ^ "Floridian: The 'quack' hunter". Sptimes.com. April 14, 1998. http://www.sptimes.com/Floridian/41498/The__quack__hunter.html. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Randi, James (1982). The Truth About Uri Geller. Prometheus Books. pp. 230–231. Randi reprints two newspaper columns from the Toronto Evening Telegram of August 28, 1950 and August 14, 1950 by Wessely Hicks about Randall Zwinge's psychic predictions. The earlier column states that "Mr. Zwinge said he first became aware that he possessed Extra Sensory Perception when he was nine years old."
- ^ Randi, James (1982). Flim-flam!. Prometheus Books. pp. 61–62.
- ^ "Filipino Justice". Randi.org. May 19, 2006. http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-05/051906sylvia.html#i13. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Jaroff, Leon (June 24, 2001). "Fighting Against Flimflam". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,149448,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
- ^ a b Philip B., Jr., Taft (July 5, 1981). "A Charlatan in Pursuit of Truth". New York Times.
- ^ Randi explained in a February 2007 presentation that he believes the word "magician" implies one who has actual magical abilities, whereas a conjurer is one who uses skills to merely play the part of one. "James Randi's fiery takedown of psychic fraud" TED; Accessed April 24, 2010.
- ^ Sinclair, Gordon, "Television & radio column", Toronto Star, February 7, 1956.
- ^ Bryant, George, "Handcuffs no problem Toronto-born magician laughs at locksmiths", Toronto Star, June 21, 1956.
- ^ "James Randi Biography". James Randi Educational Foundation. 2007. http://randi.org/jr/bio.html. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ Moseley, James W. (2002). Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist. Prometheus Books. pp. 189, 204.
- ^ Clopton, Willard (June 27, 1967). "Air Force's UFO Expert Meets the Man From S.A.U.C.E.R.S.". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Wonderama!". TVparty On!. http://www.tvparty.com/lostwonder1.html. Retrieved April 5, 2007. "Sonny Fox hosted another 'Wonderama Thanksgiving Day Party' on Thursday afternoon, November 23, 1961, with guests ventriloquist and cartoon voiceover performer Paul Winchell, magician/escape artist and magic historian The Amazing James Randi and folk singer Pat Woodell." [1]
- ^ Kevin S. Butler. "Bonamo, The Magic Clown". TVparty On!. http://www.tvparty.com/lostny2bonamo.html. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
- ^ "Good To See You Again, Alice Cooper," Live 1973 (DVD 2005), "Billion Dollar Babies Tour"
- ^ Pettigrew, Emily (2007). "Alice Cooper". St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_bio/ai_2419200281. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ "The Amazing Randi". sickthingsuk.co.uk. 2007. http://www.sickthingsuk.co.uk/people/p-randi.php. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ Randi, James (2007). "Hilarious Name-Dropping". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/050302.html. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ Alcock, James (2001). "Science vs. Pseudoscience, Nonscience, and Nonsense". In Kurtz, Paul. Skeptical Odysseys: Personal accounts by the world's leading paranormal inquirers. Prometheus Books. p. 42. ISBN 1-57392-884-4.
- ^ Arthur Conan Doyle (1930) The Edge of the Unknown, Putnam's
- ^ Martin Gardner, Did Adam and Eve have Navels, 2000, Norton, ISBN 978-0-393-04963-3, p. 178
- ^ "JAMES RANDI – Bio Information", randi.org, accessed January 21, 2011.
- ^ Randi, James. "Teleportation Magic Established By Science, At Last!", randi.org, January 19, 2011
- ^ Asimov 1994, I. Asimov, chapter "120. The Trap Door Spiders".
- ^ Rensberger, Boyce (December 13, 1975). "Magicians Term Israeli 'Psychic' a Fraud". New York Times: p. 29.
- ^ Petit, Charles (May 23, 1991). "Bay Magicians Back Uri Geller's Critic". San Francisco Chronicle: p. A27.
- ^ Levy, Michael (March 13, 1995). "Group Gets $40,000 From 'psychic' Geller Starts Paying Debunkers $120,000". The Buffalo News. http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/BN/lib00142,0EAF986A6473E6E1.html. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
- ^ Michael Kernan, "God's Chariot! Science Looks at the New Occult," The Washington Post, June 11, 1978
- ^ "About James Randi". jref.org. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/bio.html. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
- ^ Philip J. Hilts, "Magicians Score a Hit On Scientific Researchers," Washington Post March 1, 1983, First Section; A1
- ^ "A Look at the Past". James Randi Educational Foundation. September 22, 2006. http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-09/092206bad.html#i11. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- ^ Video of Hydrick's page turning debunking from Google Video
- ^ Korem, Dan (1983). Psychic Confession. (also transcript)
- ^ "A Profitable Prophet". Inside Edition. February 27, 2007. http://www.insideedition.com/ourstories/reports/story.aspx?storyid=639. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- ^ ""Carlos" hoax of Jose Alvarez". Skepdic.com. http://www.skepdic.com/carlos.html. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ "Randi talking about Carlos hoax". Abc.net.au. 1998. http://www.abc.net.au/science/correx/archives/randi4.htm. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Randi, James (February 18, 2005). "The ABC-TV Infomercial for John of God". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html#1. Retrieved November 18, 2006.
- ^ Randi, James (2006). "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural: Psychic surgery". St. Martin's Press. http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/psychic%20surgery.html. Retrieved November 18, 2006.
- ^ Randi, James (November 1, 2002). "Myth vs. Reality, A Different Danish, Reading Records, Tests in the Loo, UFO Fakery, MEG Censorship, An Australian Reading, Exeter Sinking?, Sniper Snooping, Houdini Exhibit, Fox Moon Scam — Again, and Bearden Gets Even Sillier....". Swift: Online newsletter of the JREF. http://www.randi.org/jr/110102.html. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Randi, James. "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Home,%20Daniel%20Dunglas.html. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
- ^ The First Psychic: The Peculiar Mystery of a Notorious Victorian Wizard by Peter Lamont, Little, Brown, 2005 p 302
- ^ Lamont 2005 p 302
- ^ Randi, James (July 2005). "Fakers and Innocents". Skeptical Inquirer 29 (4). ISSN 0194-6730. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061027131225/http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-07/randi.html. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Swoopy; Colanduno, Derek (June 30, 2005), "Ep. #10 - Interview: James Randi (JREF)", Skepticality (Skeptic Magazine), http://www.skepticality.com/the-james-randi-educational-foundation/, retrieved November 27, 2011
- ^ Swoopy; Colanduno, Derek (December 25, 2007), "Ep. #067a: X-Mas Episode - Interview: James Randi", Skepticality (Skeptic Magazine), http://www.skepticality.com/xmas-2007/, retrieved November 27, 2011
- ^ "Point of Inquiry". http://www.pointofinquiry.org/. Retrieved June 30, 2006.
- ^ "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe". http://theskepticsguide.org/. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ "Commentary, July 25, 2003 — Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright.". http://www.randi.org/jr/072503.html.
- ^ "James Randi Educational Foundation — An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Maharaj%20Ji.html. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- ^ Poulsen, Kevin (January 12, 2007). "Skeptic Revamps $1M Psychic Prize". Wired. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/01/72482. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
- ^ Are Psychics for Real? appeared with John Edward March 6, 2001, on Larry King Live CNN
- ^ King, Larry (September 3, 2001). "Are Psychics Real?". Larry King Live (CNN). http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html. Retrieved August 18, 2006.
- ^ The Sylvia Browne Clock from the James Randi Educational Foundation website
- ^ a b Spiritual Medium Versus Paranormal Skeptic (Rosemary Altea verses Randi) on Larry King Live June 5, 2001
- ^ "Altea and James Randi". Larry King Live. January 26, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/26/lkl.01.html. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
- ^ a b Poulsen, Kevin (January 12, 2007). "Skeptic Revamps $1M Psychic Prize". Wired. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72482-0.html?tw=wn_index_1. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ^ "Challenge Applications". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://forums.randi.org/forumdisplay.php?f=43. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
- ^ "James Randi: Action initiated . . .". skeptictank.org. December 3, 1996. http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/curley2.htm.
- ^ James Randi (June 9, 1993). "Randi found guilty of defamation". The Miami Herald. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4CD802FEBC248&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
- ^ Randi, James (February 9, 2007). "More Geller Woo-Woo". Swift (James Randi Educational Foundation). http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020209morebrowne.html#i7. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ Marcello Truzzi, An End to the Uri Geller vs. Randi & CSICOP Litigations? [2]
- ^ "Uri Geller Libel Suit Dismissed". www.csicop.org. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. August 1994. Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070406080201/http://www.csicop.org/articles/uri_dis.html. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ ""Lawsuit Against CSICOP Dismissed" (CSICOP press release)". Skeptic Tank Text Archive File. http://www.skepticfiles.org/skeptic/randi032.htm. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ Randi, James (December 17, 2004). "Another Medium Well Done". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/121704no.html#5. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Randi, James; Paul Hatchman (December 23, 2005). "Medium Well Done". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/200512/122305hallelujah.html#i2. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Randi, James (December 4, 1996). "Action initiated . . .". James Randi Educational Foundation Info List. http://www.randi.org/hotline/1996/0085.html. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Randi, James (July 8, 1998). "Curley Confirmation + Sony Corp. and ESP, More on Theremin". James Randi Educational Foundation Info List. http://www.randi.org/hotline/1998/0025.html. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ a b Randi, James (July 25, 2008). "An Encouraging Development". James Randi Educational Foundation. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080822214803/http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/204/1/#i1. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
- ^ Randi, James (September 17, 2001). "Commentary: Etc.". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/091701.html. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ "On the Soap Box". James Randi Educational Foundation. July 15, 2005. http://www.randi.org/jr/071505on.html#1. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ "Randi Update". James Randi Educational Foundation. February 10, 2006. http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-02/021006busted.html#i1. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ Randi, James; Paul Hatchman (February 17, 2006). "introductory paragraph". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/2006-02/021706hal.html. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Randi, James (February 2, 2007). "In Conclusion...". Swift. James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-02/020207geller.html#i11. Retrieved October 29, 2007.
- ^ a b Thorp, Brandon K. "Randi On (and Off) Chemotherapy" Swift randi.org; January 12, 2010
- ^ a b c "The Demystifying Adventures of the Amazing Randi". http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-08-26/news/the-demystifying-adventures-of-the-amazing-randi/1. Retrieved September 5, 2009. SF Weekly, August 24, 2009, lengthy article by Michael J. Mooney, which reported: "He has intestinal cancer and may not have long to live."
- ^ Randi, James. "How To Say It?", "Swift", March 21, 2010
- ^ "James Randi – A Skeptic Comes Out at 81 (podcast)". For Good Reason. March 21, 2010. http://www.forgoodreason.org/james_randi_a_skeptic_comes_out_at_81. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- ^ "MacArthur Fellows". MacArthur Foundation. August 1986. http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.1142693/k.79E6/Fellows_List__August_1986.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ "Joseph A. Burton Forum Award". Aps.org. http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/awards/burton.cfm. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Randi, James (March 23, 2007). "In Closing". James Randi Educational Foundation. http://www.randi.org/jr/2007-03/032307tx.html#i11. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ "IIG | The IIG Awards". Iigwest.com. 2010-08-21. http://www.iigwest.com/iigawards/2006/index.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ Bupp, Nathan (January 12, 2010). "Sixteen Notable Figures in Science and Skepticism Elected CSI Fellows". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. http://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases/show/sixteen_notable_figures_in_science_and_skepticism_elected_csi_fellows. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
- ^ McMaster, Shawn (2 April 2012). "The Academy of Magical Arts Awards Results". The Mandala. http://themandalamag.com/2012/04/02/the-academy-of-magical-arts-awards-results/. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ a b "JAMES RANDI – Bio Information", accessed December 20, 2010
- ^ Video by Tommy Finke about the album (German)
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Randi |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: James Randi |
Works by or about James Randi in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Official
- James Randi Educational Foundation – Official website
- James Randi Educational Foundation official YouTube channel
- Video of short talk by Randi in 2007 at TED
Supportive
- James Randi in the Skeptic's Dictionary
- Project Alpha in the Skeptic's Dictionary
- How Randi and fake psychic Carlos fooled millions
- James Randi at the Internet Movie Database
Media
- James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Mr. Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more
- James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Mr. Randi discusses the TV show "Phenomenon," the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
- Malmgren, Jeanne (April 14, 1998). "Randi, the quack hunter". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.com/Floridian/41498/The__quack__hunter.html.
- "Homeopathy: The Test — webchat with James Randi". BBC. November 26, 2002. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathyrandi.shtml.
- "20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi"
- The Power of Belief (Video clip) from ABC News
- Randi's Internet Audio Show from the James Randi Educational Foundation
- Skepticality Internet Radio
Transcripts
- "Official transcript: Psychic Powers Debunked in Shawn Hornbeck Case". Anderson Cooper 360. January 19, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/19/acd.01.html. (Sylvia Browne and Randi)
- "Official transcript: Psychic Psychic Reality Check". Anderson Cooper 360. January 30, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/30/acd.01.html. (Sylvia Browne's manager and Randi)
- "Official transcript: Have Psychics Gone Too Far?". Larry King Live. January 26, 2007. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0701/26/lkl.01.html. (Altea and James Randi)
- "Official transcript: Spiritual Medium Versus Paranormal Skeptic". Larry King Live. June 5, 2001. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0106/05/lkl.00.html. (Rosemary Altea and Randi)
- "Official transcript: Are Psychics Real?". Larry King Live. September 3, 2001. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/03/lkl.00.html. (Sylvia Browne and Randi)
Criticism
- A Skeptical Look At James Randi Michael Prescott
- James Randi's response to criticism James Randi Educational Foundation
- Benveniste, Jacques, and Peter Jurgens. On the Role of Stage Magicians in Biological Research The Anomalist 1998
- Thalbourne, Michael A, “Science versus showmanship: A history of the Randi hoax,” American Society for Psychical Research 89 (4) October 1995
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Randi, James |
| Alternative names | Zwinge, Randall James Hamilton (birth name); The Amazing Randi (stage name) |
| Short description | Magician, skeptic, writer |
| Date of birth | August 7, 1928 |
| Place of birth | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/James_Randi
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
