Dorion Sagan will surely offend the followers of both Rick Warren and Richard Dawkins by arguing that scientism and religious fundamentalism “share more than their oppositionality.” Carl Sagan’s son has inherited some of his father’s will to influence the public perception of science, but is energized by his mother, evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis, whose theories on the origin of life ran contrary to the neo-Darwinian orthodoxy. At bottom, Cosmic Apprentice is a plea for science to reconnect with its roots in philosophy, regaining a sense of reflection and jettisoning its dogmatic mindset.
