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 the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...
, including ''Cosmic Apprentice,'' ''Cracking the Aging Code,'' and ''Lynn Margulis: The Life and Legacy of a Scientific Rebel'' (the last, about his mother).
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 ex ...
and life.
Sagan's works have been translated into 15 languages and are widely cited in critical theory since
The Nonhuman Turn, in
New materialism, and in
feminist science studies.
Sagan is a son of astronomer
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...
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 symbiogenesis, symbiosis in evolution. In particular, Margulis tr ...
. He has four siblings. His half-brother
Nick Sagan 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
William Dana Atkinson (March 17, 1951 – June 5, 2025) was an American computer engineer, computer programmer, and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. Some of Atkinson's noteworthy contributions to the field of ...
)
* ''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 American art critic and essayist and is the 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'' ...
and
Sanford Kwinter, 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 the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...
)
* "A Brief History of Sex" (2007 - ''
Cosmos
The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...
''
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 – 1974
* EdPress Excellence in Educational Journalism Award, Nonprofit National – 1986
* Humana Scholarship –
Centre College
Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...
Danville, Kentucky (2003)
* Lindisfarne Fellowship –
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...
(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 FoundationOnline audio interview with Lynn Margulis and Dorion SaganLetters (discussing "Turing Gaia," the natural basis of teleology) to
Olivia Judson “Wild Side” column, topic “Heavy Weather,” ''The New York Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagan, Dorion
1959 births
Living people
20th-century American essayists
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American poets
21st-century American essayists
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American poets
American fiction writers
American male essayists
American male non-fiction writers
American male poets
American male short story writers
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American science writers
Carl Sagan
Place of birth missing (living people)
Jewish American non-fiction writers
Jewish American poets
Jewish American short story writers
Sagan family
Writers from Madison, Wisconsin