Dorion Sagan (born 1959) is an American essayist, fiction writer, poet, and theorist of ecology. He has written and co-authored books on culture, art, literature, evolution, and the history and
philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...
, including ''Cosmic Apprentice,'' ''Cracking the Aging Code,'' and ''Lynn Margulis: The Life and Legacy of a Scientific Rebel.'' His book ''Into the Cool,'' co-authored with Eric D. Schneider, is about the relationship between
non-equilibrium thermodynamics
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is a branch of thermodynamics that deals with physical systems that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium but can be described in terms of macroscopic quantities (non-equilibrium state variables) that represent an ext ...
and life. His works have been translated into 15 languages and are widely cited in critical theory since the "nonhuman turn," in new materialist theory, and in feminist science studies.
Family
Sagan is the son of astronomer
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
and biologist
Lynn Margulis
Lynn Margulis (born Lynn Petra Alexander; March 5, 1938 – November 22, 2011) was an American evolutionary biologist, and was the primary modern proponent for the significance of symbiosis in evolution. Historian Jan Sapp has said that "Lynn Ma ...
. He has four siblings. His half-brother
Nick Sagan
Nicholas Julian Zapata Sagan (born September 16, 1970) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the science fiction novels '' Idlewild'', '' Edenborn'', and '' Everfree'', and has also written scripts for episodes of '' Star ...
is a science fiction writer.
Bibliography
; Books
* ''Livro de seres invisiveis'' (2021)
* ''Cosmic Apprentice: Dispatches from the Edges of Science'' (2013)
* ''Lynn Margulis: The Life and Legacy of a Scientific Rebel'' (2012, Sciencewriters Books)
* ''Death and Sex'' (two-in-one book with Tyler Volk, 2009)
* ''Biospheres: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth'' (1990)
* ''Notes from the Holocene: A Brief History of the Future'' (2007)
* ''Cooking with Jesus: From the Primal Brew to the Last Brunch'' (2001)
* ''The Sciences of Avatar'' (2010)
Co-written with Lynn Margulis
* ''Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Evolution from Our Microbial Ancestors'' (1986)
* ''Origins of Sex : Three Billion Years of Genetic Recombination'' (1986)
* ''Garden of Microbial Delights: A Practical Guide to the Subvisible World'' (1988)
* ''Biospheres from Earth to Space'' (1989)
* ''Mystery Dance: On the Evolution of Human Sexuality'' (1991)
* ''What Is Sex?'' (1995)
* ''What Is Life?'' (1995)
* ''Slanted Truths: Essays on Gaia, Symbiosis, and Evolution'' (1997)
* ''Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origins of Species'' (2002)
* ''Dazzle Gradually: Reflections on the Nature of Nature'' (2007)
Co-written with Eric D. Schneider
* ''Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life'' (2005)
Co-written with others
* ''Cracking the Aging Code: The New Science of Growing Old - And What It Means for Staying Young'' (2016 - with Josh Mitteldorf)
* ''
Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence'' (2002 - with
John Skoyles)
* ''Within the Stone: Nature's Abstract Rock Art'' (2004 - partial text to book of photographs by
Bill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson (born March 17, 1951) is an American computer engineer and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990.
Atkinson was the principal designer and developer of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the Apple ...
)
* ''Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism'' (2006 - foreword to book by
David Mills)
* ''Darwin's Unfinished Business: The Self-Organizing Intelligence of Nature'' (2011 - with
Simon G Powell)
; Essays
"Möbius Trip: The Technosphere and Our Science Fiction Reality"''Technosphere Magazine'' (2017)
* "Metametazoa: Biology and Multiplicity" (1992 - In ''Incorporations: Fragments for a History of the Human Body'',
Jonathan Crary
Jonathan Crary is an art critic and essayist, and is Meyer Schapiro Professor of Modern Art and Theory at Columbia University. His first notable works were ''Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and Modernity in the 19th Century'' (1990), and ' ...
and
Sanford Kwinter
Sanford Kwinter is a Canadian-born, New York-based writer and architectural theorist, and a co-founder of Zone Books publishers. Kwinter currently serves as Professor of Theory and Criticism at the Pratt Institute. He formerly served as an associ ...
, editors, Zone, pp. 362–385)
* "Partial closure: Dorion Sagan reflects on Carl" (1997 - ''
Whole Earth'', summer, pp. 34–37)
* "Gender Specifics: Why Women Aren't Men" (1998 - ''The New York Times'
"The Beast with Five Genomes"(2001 - with Lynn Margulis - ''
Natural History (magazine), Natural History'' June, pp. 38–41)
"The Postman Already Always Rings Twice: Fragments for an Understanding of the Future"(2004 ''
Cabinet: A Quarterly of Art and Culture'', pp. 23–27)
"Gradient-Reduction Theory: Thermodynamics and the Purpose of Life"(2004 - with Jessica H. Whiteside. In ''Scientists Debate Gaia: The Next Century''
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962.
History
The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...
)
* "A Brief History of Sex" (2007 - ''
Cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
''
ustralia June/July, pp. 50–55)
* "Evolution, Complexity, and Energy Flow" (2008 - ''Back to Darwin: A Richer Account of Evolution''
John B. Cobb Jr., Editor, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, pp. 145–156)
* "What is the Cultural Relevance of Bacteria?" (2009 -
Sputnik Observatory
; Short Stories
* "The Tchaikovsky Dream Continuum" ''Cabinet'', Issue 54 The Accident (Summer 2014)
* "The New Age Witch" (1993) ''After Hours'', #19, summer, pp. 36–45
* "Love’s Strangers" (2006) ''Meat for Tea: The Northampton Review'', summer, Vol. 1, Issue 3, "Flesh," pp. 3–10
* "Semi-Naked" (2006) ''Meat for Tea: The Northampton Review'', winter, Vol. 1, Issue 1, "Gristle," pp. 5–24
Awards and honors
* First place, Silent Mora Ring 122
International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 lo ...
– 1974
* EdPress Excellence in Educational Journalism Award, Nonprofit National – 1986
* Humana Scholarship –
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...
Danville, Kentucky (2003)
* Lindisfarne Fellowship –
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...
(2008 –)
* Advisory Board – Sputnik Inc (2009 –)
References
*"Dorion Sagan." (June 15, 2005). ''Contemporary Authors Online.'' Retrieved May 20, 2007.
External links
*
Cabinet Magazine essaysInto the Cool website(as archived in 2014)
*
Sputnik Observatory Interviews The
Edge Foundation
The Edge Foundation, Inc. is an association of science and technology intellectuals created in 1988 as an outgrowth of The Reality Club. Its main activities are reflected on the edge.org website, edited by publisher and businessman John Brock ...
Online audio interview with Lynn Margulis and Dorion SaganLetters (discussing "Turing Gaia," the natural basis of teleology) to
Olivia Judson
Olivia P. Judson (born 1970) is a British evolutionary biologist and science writer. She is a former journalist for ''The Economist'', a former online columnist for ''The New York Times'' and has published in a number of other publications, includ ...
“Wild Side” column, topic “Heavy Weather,” ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagan, Dorion
1959 births
Living people
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American science writers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Jewish American writers
Writers from Madison, Wisconsin
Sagan family
Carl Sagan