To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be wrong.

All three of the Abrahamic religions were born and nurtured in arid, disturbed environments.

I had reached a point in my career in which I was ready to try something new in my writing, and the idea of a novel has always been in the back of my mind.

Science needs the intuition and metaphorical power of the arts, and the arts need the fresh blood of science ... Interpretation is the logical channel of consilient explanation between science and the arts. The arts ... also nourish our craving for the mystical.

No species ... possesses a purpose beyond the imperatives created by genetic history ... The human mind is a device for survival and reproduction, and reason is just one of its various techniques.

Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.

People respect nonfiction but they read novels.