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		<title>Sagan, Carl -- The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective, ch. 26 (1973)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/sagan-carl/79250/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 22:50:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sagan, Carl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atoms]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The fate of individual human beings may not now be connected in a deep way with the rest of the universe, but the matter out of which each of us is made is intimately tied to processes that occurred immense intervals of time and enormous distances in space away from us. Our Sun is a [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The fate of individual human beings may not now be connected in a deep way with the rest of the universe, but the matter out of which each of us is made is intimately tied to processes that occurred immense intervals of time and enormous distances in space away from us. Our Sun is a second- or third-generation star. All of the rocky and metallic material we stand on, the iron in our blood, the calcium in our teeth, the carbon in our genes were produced billions of years ago in the interior of a red giant star. We are made of star-stuff.</p>
<br><b>Carl Sagan</b> (1934-1996) American scientist and writer<br><i>The Cosmic Connection: An Extraterrestrial Perspective</i>, ch. 26 (1973) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://archive.org/details/TheCosmicConnectionCarlSagan/page/n147/mode/2up?q=%22rocky+and+metallic%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

Sagan riffed off the "star-stuff" theme during his <a href="https://youtu.be/PamO2s31uXc?si=iNwdI36Lm4-VcE7k&t=2044">1980 PBS TV series, <i>Cosmos</i></a>, ep. 9:<br><br>

<blockquote>The Cosmos was originally all hydrogen and helium. Heavier elements were made in red giants and supernovas, and then blown off into space, where they were available for subsequent generations of stars and planets. Our sun is probably a 3rd generation star. Except for hydrogen and helium, every atom in the Sun and the Earth was synthesized in other stars. The silicon in the rocks, the oxygen in the air, the carbon in our DNA, the gold in our banks, the uranium in our arsenals, were all made thousands of light years away and billions of years ago. Our planet, our society, and we ourselves, are built of star-stuff. </blockquote><br>

In the <a href="https://archive.org/details/cosmos0000saga_k7h8/page/244/mode/2up?q=%22starstuff%22">companion book for the series</a>, chapter 9, he included this variation:<br><br>

<blockquote>All the elements of the Earth except hydrogen and some helium have been cooked by a kind of stellar alchemy billions of years ago in stars, some of which are today inconspicuous white dwarfs on the other side of the Milky Way Galaxy. The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.</blockquote><br>

He also included this phrase <a href="https://youtu.be/rWnA4XLrMWA?si=HW3deU8gDs5QATvh&t=143">toward the end of the TV series</a> (specific episode unknown):<br><br>

<blockquote>Because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.</blockquote><br>

A dozen years later, D. C. Fontana combined these thoughts <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0517616/quotes/?item=qt0416127">in her script</a> for <a href="https://youtu.be/VhD0hbGEDSU?si=FBqcsFX7VtrHHvfJ&t=90"><i>Babylon 5</i>, 2x04 "A Distant Star"</a> [Prod. 204] (1994-11-16):<br><br>

<blockquote><span class="tab">DELENN: The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station, and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are star-stuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. </blockquote><br>						</span>
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		<title>Dyson, Freeman -- &#8220;Progress in Religion,&#8221; Templeton Prize acceptance speech, Washington National Cathedral (9 May 2000)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/dyson-freeman/58342/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/dyson-freeman/58342/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2023 18:13:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Dyson, Freeman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cosmos]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[So I am thinking that atoms and humans and God may have minds that differ in degree but not in kind. We stand, in a manner of speaking, midway between the unpredictability of atoms and the unpredictability of God. Atoms are small pieces of our mental apparatus, and we are small pieces of God&#8217;s mental [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So I am thinking that atoms and humans and God may have minds that differ in degree but not in kind. We stand, in a manner of speaking, midway between the unpredictability of atoms and the unpredictability of God. Atoms are small pieces of our mental apparatus, and we are small pieces of God&#8217;s mental apparatus. Our minds may receive inputs equally from atoms and from God. This view of our place in the cosmos may not be true, but it is compatible with the active nature of atoms as revealed in the experiments of modern physics. I don&#8217;t say that this personal theology is supported or proved by scientific evidence. I only say that it is consistent with scientific evidence.</p>
<br><b>Freeman Dyson</b> (1923-2020) English-American theoretical physicist, mathematician, futurist<br>&#8220;Progress in Religion,&#8221; Templeton Prize acceptance speech, Washington National Cathedral (9 May 2000) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.edge.org/conversation/freeman_dyson-progress-in-religion#:~:text=of%20world%2Dsouls.-,So%20I%20am%20thinking%20that%20atoms%20and%20humans%20and%20God%20may%20have%20minds%20that%20differ%20in%20degree%20but%20not%20in%20kind,-.%20We%20stand%2C%20in" target="_blank">Source</a>)
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		<title>Einstein, Albert -- Conversation (c. 1941), quoted in Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Towards the Further Shore (1968)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/einstein-albert/14824/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/einstein-albert/14824/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:52:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Einstein, Albert]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views.</p>
<br><b>Albert Einstein</b> (1879-1955) German-American physicist<br>Conversation (c. 1941), quoted in Hubertus zu Löwenstein, <i>Towards the Further Shore</i> (1968) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ultimate_Quotable_Einstein/G_iziBAPXtEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=einstein%20%22view%20of%20such%20harmony%20in%20the%20cosmos%22&pg=PA336&printsec=frontcover&bsq=einstein%20%22view%20of%20such%20harmony%20in%20the%20cosmos%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
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                <!-- DCH Modify the title to give the category (quote author) at the beginning of it. -->
		<title>Marcus Aurelius -- Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book  4, ch. 40 (4.40) (AD 161-180) [tr. Farquharson (1944)]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/marcus-aureleus/2677/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/marcus-aureleus/2677/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marcus Aurelius]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[animism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[circle of life; gaea]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Constantly think of the Universe as one living creature, embracing one being and one soul; how all is absorbed into the one consciousness of this living creature; how it compasses all things with a single purpose, and how all things work together to cause all that comes to pass, and their wonderful web and texture. [&#8230;]]]></description>
        <!-- DCH Insert author info (category description) then (Source) and then put the extra info (MORE) below that. -->
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Constantly think of the Universe as one living creature, embracing one being and one soul; how all is absorbed into the one consciousness of this living creature; how it compasses all things with a single purpose, and how all things work together to cause all that comes to pass, and their wonderful web and texture.</p>
<p>[Ὡς ἓν ζῷον τὸν κόσμον, μίαν οὐσίαν καὶ ψυχὴν μίαν ἐπέχον, συνεχῶς ἐπινοεῖν καὶ πῶς εἰς αἴσθησιν μίαν τὴν τούτου πάντα ἀναδίδοται καὶ πῶς ὁρμῇ μιᾷ πάντα πράσσει καὶ πῶς πάντα πάντων τῶν γινομένων συναίτια καὶ οἵα τις ἡ σύννησις καὶ συμμήρυσις.]</p>
<br><b>Marcus Aurelius</b> (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher<br><i>Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν]</i>, Book  4, ch. 40 (4.40) (AD 161-180) [tr. Farquharson (1944)] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Meditations_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Antoninus/Book_4#:~:text=Constantly%20think%20of,web%20and%20texture." target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

The universe as a single, unified being, was part of Stoic philosophy.<br><br>

(<a href="http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0562.tlg001.perseus-grc1">Source (Greek)</a>). Alternate translations:<br><br>

<blockquote>Ever consider and think upon the world as being but one living substance, and having but one soul, and how all things in the world, are terminated into one sensitive power; and are done by one general motion as it were, and deliberation of that one soul; and how all things that are, concur in the cause of one another's being, and by what manner of connection and concatenation all things happen.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus_-_His_Meditations_concerning_himselfe#THE_FOURTH_BOOK:~:text=Ever%20consider%20and,all%20things%20happen.">Casaubon</a> (1634), 4.33]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>You ought frequently to consider that the World is an Animal, consisting of one Soul and Body; that an Universal Sense runs through the whole Mass of Matter. You should likewise reflect how Nature Acts by a Joynt Effort, and as it were altogether; And how every thing contributes to the Being of every thing: And lastly, what Connexion and Subordination there is, between Causes, and Effects.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Emperor_Marcus_Antoninus:_His_Conversation_with_Himself/Book_4#:~:text=You%20ought%20frequently,Causes%2C%20and%20Effects.">Collier</a> (1701)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Consider always this universe as one living being or animal; with one material substance, and one spirit; and how all things are referred to the sense of this spirit; and how it’s will accomplishes all things, and how the whole concurs to the production of every thing; and what a connexion and contexture there is among all things.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/457829267955022580052/page/n87/mode/2up?q=%22Consider+always+this+universe%22">Hutcheson/Moor</a> (1742)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote><span class="tab">You should always remember, that the world or universe is one animated system, including one material substance and one spirit, and that all things have a reference to this one spirit, which pervades and actuates teh whole. 
<span class="tab">You should reflect also, that all nature acts with a united force, and all things concur reciprocally in producing all things; and lastly, what connection and dependence subsists between them.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_meditations_of_Marcus_Aurelius_Anton/3uQIAAAAQAAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=%22including%20one%20material%22">Graves</a> (1792), 4.33]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the co-operating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Thoughts_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus/Book_IV#:~:text=Constantly%20regard%20the,of%20the%20web.">Long</a> (1862)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>You ought frequently to consider that the world is an animal, consisting of one sould and body, that an universal sense runs through the whole mass of matter. You should likewise reflect how nature acts by a joint effort, and how everything contributes to the being of everything: and lastly, what connection and subordination there is between causes and effects.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Meditations_of_Marcus_Aurelius/5qcAEZZibB0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22world%20is%20an%20animal%22">Collier/Zimmern</a> (1887)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Consistently picture the universe as a living organism, controlling a single substance and a single soul, and note how all things are assimilated to a single world-sense, all act by a single impulse, and all co-operate towards all that comes to pass; and mare the contexture and concatenation of the web.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus_to_Himself/0X2BxfXnXKcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22constantly%20picture%22">Rendall</a> (1898)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Ever consider this Universe as one living being, with one material substance and one spirit. Observe how all things are referred to the one intelligence of this being; how all things act on one impulse; how all things are concurrent causes of all others; and how all things are connected and intertwined.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/55317/pg55317-images.html#:~:text=Ever%20consider%20this,connected%20and%20intertwined.">Hutcheson/Chrystal</a> (1902)] </blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Cease not to think of the Universe as one living Being, possessed of a single Substance and a single Soul; and how all things trace back to its single sentience; and how it does all things by a single impulse; and how all existing things are joint causes of all things that come into existence; and how intertwined in the fabric is the thread and how closely woven the web.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius_(Haines_1916)/Book_4#:~:text=Cease%20not%20to,woven%20the%20web.">Haines</a> (Loeb) (1916)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Always think of the universe as one living organism, with a single substance and a single soul; and observe how all things are submitted to the single perceptivity of this one whole, all are moved by its single impulse, and all play their part in the causation of every event that happens. Remark the intricacy of the skein, the complexity of the web.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Meditations/WV7Teosv0bIC?gbpv=1&bsq=%22always%20think%20of%20the%20universe%22">Staniforth</a> (1964)] </blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Constantly think of the universe as a single living being, comprised of a single substance and a single souil; and how all things issue into the single consciousness of this being, and how it accomplishes all things through a single impulse; and how al things work together to cause all that comes to be, and how intricate and densely woven is the fabric formed by their interweaving.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Meditations/VVsmU-4YwFsC?gbpv=1&bsq=%224.40%22">Hard</a> (1997 ed.)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>The world as a living being -- one nature, one soul. Keep that in mind. And how everything feeds into that single experience, moves with a single motion. And how everything helps produce everything else. Spun and woven together.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/meditation-GeorgeHays/page/n125/mode/2up?q=%22world+as+a+living+being%22">Hays</a> (2003)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Think always of the universe as one living creature, comprising one substance and one soul: how all is absorbed into this one consciousness; how a single impulse governs all its actions; how all things collaborate in all that happens; the very web and mesh of it all.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/marcus-aurelius-emperor-of-rome-martin-hammond-diskin-clay-meditations/page/31/mode/2up?q=%22one+living+creature%22">Hammond</a> (2006)]  </blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Constantly think of the universe as a single living being, comprised of a single substance and a single soul; and how all things issue into the single perception of this being, and how it accomplishes all things through a single impulse; and how all things work together to cause all that comes to be, and how intricate and densely woven is the fabric formed by their interweaving.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/meditations0000marc_m5f0/page/30/mode/2up?q=%22single+living+being%22">Hard</a> (2011 ed.)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Constantly think of the universe as one living animal, possessing one substance and one soul; and how all these things are absorbed into the single perception of this animal and how it does all things with a single motive and how all things are co-responsible for everything that happens and how things form a kind of web and mesh.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marcus_Aurelius_Meditations_Books_1_6/fCdoAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%2240%20constantly%22">Gill</a> (2013)]</blockquote><br>
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