Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
Edgar Allan Poe, Vladimir Putin, and a Cosmos Full of Galaxies

Edgar Allan Poe, Vladimir Putin, and a Cosmos Full of Galaxies

Last updated on: October 19, 2018 at 9:31 am by Dan Peterson

Edgar Allan Poe, Vladimir Putin, and a Cosmos Full of Galaxies 2018-10-19T09:31:30-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

NGC 1300, a barred spiral galaxy (NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team)

The story this morning is that Vladimir Putin hasn’t yet seen enough evidence, in the case of the apparent murder of Jamal Khashoggi, that he would be williing to imperil Saud-Russian relations over the issue.

This is really big news, of course, since we all know Mr. Putin’s deep, even passionate, moral opposition to the idea of assassinating dissident fellow citizens, especially on foreign soil.

***

But now, on to some science matters:

“What Good Is Evolutionary Psychology?”

I used it just this morning to open a can of tuna!

“This Is How We Know There Are Two Trillion Galaxies In The Universe”

The cosmos, in other words, seems to be fairly large.

***

I think that I’ve already posted something on this wonderful story. But several people have called my attention to another piece about it in The Atlantic, which is well worth reading:

“What an Audacious Hoax Reveals About Academia: Three scholars wrote 20 fake papers using fashionable jargon to argue for ridiculous conclusions.”

As I’ve said before, I would love to have perpetrated this hoax myself. And someday, perhaps, I’ll reveal some of my own distinctly minor-league efforts along similar lines.

***

One complaint that is sometimes heard is that modern science, with its tendency toward reductionism, has demythologized or, perhaps better, disenchanted the world. I understand the criticism, and I’m not entirely unsympathetic. On the whole, though, I’m perfectly fine — nay, enthusiastic — about the world that contemporary science has revealed to us, and about the new and more accurate worldview that it’s allowing us to construct. I actually believe, in fact, that recent developments in science have, to a certain degree and in a certain way, been nudging us toward a re-enchantment of our world and of the cosmos.

But here’s that complaint expressed in poetic form by the early-nineteenth-century American writer Edgar Allan Poe, in his “Sonnet — To Science”:

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!

Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.

Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart,

Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?

How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,

Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering

To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,

Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?

Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car,

And driven the Hamadryad from the wood

To seek a shelter in some happier star?

Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,

The Elfin from the green grass, and from me

The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 18, 2018

"Repel evil with what is better."

Next Post

October 19, 2018 "An eternity of felicity"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the Bible say about "bearing each other's burdens"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Only help yourself Help each other Complain Ignore troubles