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Carl Sagan 's Belief Systems

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Carl Sagan starts by wondering why we have various belief systems. There have been many examples of belief systems and at any time “you would find a set of popular, more or less similar, belief systems” (Sagan, pg. 379). The systems can change in a matter of years or last thousands of years, depending on the support provided to the system from the people. Also, there are always a number of belief systems to choose from. These systems are similar in that they have a comparable reason for their presence. He came to the conclusion that belief systems fulfill a “real human need that [is] not being met by our society” (Sagan, pg. 379). These include medical needs, spiritual needs, or a need to communicate and connect with the rest of society. …show more content…

Both view the belief systems as offering a different way to satisfy the needs of the public, if the social systems that are in place cannot satisfy those needs. They differ in that Hufford says that it is a criticism of the social system, calling the system indirectly inadequate. Sagan may have held this view as well, but did not discuss it within this article. The idea that belief fulfills a need is accurate. I agree that their observation holds true to society. Taking an example of mainstream religions, many say that they join and practice because they feel closer to a community of like-minded individuals.
Carl Sagan’s argues for skepticism to be more widely used in a person’s daily life. He leads with an example of buying a used car. He goes on to explain that many people will question the dealer about the quality of the car or bring a mechanically inclined friend along. This opens the audience to the idea that many people are already skeptical of certain situations. People have heard stories that used car salesmen may sell malfunctioning cars and will take precautions when purchasing a car. Skepticism is something that is necessary to our lives, because it can prevent us from making a mistake by not asking questions. Sagan wants that skepticism to spread to other beliefs and ideas. As an example of people or ideas people do not question, Sagan uses commercials. Sagan says that commercials are not meant to be questioned about

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