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Better to die in the pursuit of civilized values, we believed, than in a flight underground. We were offering a value system couched in the language of science.

The enlightenment is under threat. So is reason. So is truth. So is science, especially in the schools of America.

We live in a world economically, socially, and culturally dependent on science not only functioning well, but being wisely applied.

Everybody has values. Now, you know it may be formed in a secular setting, it may be formed in an intellectual setting, but everybody comes forward with values.

Religion, art, and science flourish best in a free society. True, freedom does not afford much opportunity for grand gestures. It has little room for martyrs. But life is not supposed to be about dying well. It is about living well.

In economics, hope and faith coexist with great scientific pretension and also a deep desire for respectability.

In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival.

The mistake we make is to attribute to religions the errors and fanaticism of human beings.

I consistently encounter people in academic settings and scientists and journalists who feel that you can't say that anyone is wrong in any deep sense about morality, or with regard to what they value in life. I think this doubt about the application of science and reason to questions of value is really quite dangerous.

Far from being demeaning to human spiritual values, scientific rationalism is the crowning glory of the human spirit.