The subject of Sagan's memorable refusal to think with his gut?

Does "the subject of Sagan's memorable refusal to think with his gut" mean "the topic about Sagan's remarkable denial (of outer space life) - he refused to think this topic with his heart/brain"?

Background info:

LITTLE GREEN MEN

Suppose Bertrand Russell's parable had concerned not a teapot in
outer space but life in outer space - the subject of Sagan's
memorable refusal to think with his gut. Once again we cannot dis-
prove it, and the only strictly rational stance is agnosticism. But the
hypothesis is no longer frivolous. We don't immediately scent
extreme improbability. We can have an interesting argument based
on incomplete evidence, and we can write down the kind of
evidence that would decrease our uncertainty.