Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
by Steven Pinker
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18:33
Author shares charts and photos and speaks in Ted Talk format
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May, 2018
Spoiler:
Presenting an optimistic worldview backed by data, author Steven Pinker argues that things like violence, famine, infant mortality, and deaths by car accidents are decreasing over time, in spite of the dark view constantly presented by news outlets. He states that “progress is not a matter of faith or optimism, but is a fact of human history.” He suggests that we embrace the ideals of the Enlightenment (reason, humanism, progress and science) as a way of continuing to make the world a better place.
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Author and Bill Gates chat in Gates Notes format + animated charts
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Spoiler:
Noting that news is about things that happen, not things that don’t happen, author Steven Pinker reminds us that we’ll never hear on the news that fewer people are hungry, dying in car accidents, etc. However, he asserts that the world is actually getting better, even down to unexpected things like fewer people getting struck by lightning bolts. The author proposes that “if we try to understand how the world works and make people better off, bit by bit we can succeed.”
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Author presentation, slides and Q&A in Google Talks format
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Spoiler:
Arguing that other belief systems (such as religions) have passionate advocates, author Steven Pinker promotes Enlightenment (based on reason, science, humanism and progress) as deserving a passionate fanbase as well. He presents some of the data behind the optimistic worldview of his book, asserting that the world is getting better, not worse. He offers suggestions as to how we can continue progressing in major areas like education and healthcare and addresses some of the criticisms of the book.
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Steven Pinker is a Canadian cognitive psychologist and psycholinguist. He is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard and has also taught at Stanford and MIT. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Pinker is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Humanist of the Year, and holds nine honorary doctorates. He has been named one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.”
Other books by Steven Pinker
Publications
The Guardian: Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker review – life is getting better
Harvard Magazine: Can Science Justify Itself? Steven Pinker defends science from modern-day foes.
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