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Enlightenment now : the case for reason, science, humanism, and progress / Steven Pinker.

by Pinker, Steven, 1954-

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Civilization, Modern -- 21st century.

Quality of life.

9780525427575 (hc.)

xix, 556 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 455-524) and index.

Part I: Enlightenment -- Dare to understand! -- Entro, evo, info -- Counter-enlightenments -- Part II: Progress -- Progressophobia -- Life -- Health -- Sustenance -- Wealth -- Inequality -- The environment -- Peace -- Safety -- Terrorism -- Democracy -- Equal rights -- Knowledge -- Quality of life -- Happiness -- Existential threats -- The future of progress -- Part III: Reason, science, and humanism -- Reason -- Science -- Humanism.

The follow-up to Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature presents the big picture of human progress: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science. Far from being a naive hope, the Enlightenment, we now know, has worked. But more than ever, it needs a vigorous defense. It swims against currents of human nature - tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, magical thinking - which demagogues are all too willing to exploit. Many commentators, committed to political, religious, or romantic ideologies, fight a rearguard action against it. The result is a corrosive fatalism and a willingness to wreck the precious institutions of liberal democracy and global cooperation. Steven Pinker is a professor of Psychology at Harvard University.

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