![]() ![]() Without it the book is only a middling case for humanism wrapped around a stat dump on human material progress.Ĭonsequently, a reader would expect a thorough historical account of how Enlightenment ideals led to the progress he recounts. He claims that, unlike religion, the “Enlightenment has worked.” This connection between Enlightenment thought and human flourishing is the heart of his thesis. Pinker’s goal is to show that Enlightenment ideals and humanism are the driving force behind human progress and flourishing. Imagine reading an optimistic spreadsheet-forever. Pinker asserts that peace, prosperity, health, freedom and knowledge have increased, and he has the charts and graphs to prove it. Sandwiched between these sections are 300 pages extolling human progress. Together the first and third parts provide a slim (less than 150 pages) case for “Enlightenment ideals” and secular humanism-think of Christopher Hitchens without the style. It is really two books for the price of one, but this is a burden, not a bargain. ![]() ![]() While reading Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress I was comforted by the knowledge that I would be compensated for my opinion of it.Įnlightenment Now is the latest book by Pinker, a Harvard professor of psychology and prolific writer of pop academic books and articles. ![]()
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