Nonfiction

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

  • Downloads：3875
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-10 11:59:21
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Steven Pinker
  • ISBN：0143111388
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018
ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"My new favorite book of all time。" --Bill Gates

If you think the world is coming to an end， think again: 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。

Is the world really falling apart？ Is the ideal of progress obsolete？ In this elegant assessment of the human condition in the third millennium， cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom， which play to our psychological biases。 Instead， follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs， Pinker shows that life， health， prosperity， safety， peace， knowledge， and happiness are on the rise， not just in the West， but worldwide。 This progress is not the result of some cosmic force。 It is a gift of the Enlightenment: the conviction that reason and science can enhance human flourishing。

Far from being a naive hope， the Enlightenment， we now know， has worked。 But more than ever， it needs a vigorous defense。 The Enlightenment project 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。

With intellectual depth and literary flair， Enlightenment Now makes the case for reason， science， and humanism: the ideals we need to confront our problems and continue our progress。

Download

Reviews

Brad Davis ，

I get bored when fiction reiterates the same point over and over again using different examples。 I may be the problem but I stand by myself。

Riccardo Forte ，

Amid the pandemic and， often， the depressing flow of news from newspapers and newscasts， it is sometimes difficult to think positively。 In this extraordinary book， lucidly written， timely， eloquent and rich in data， Steven Pinker， Canadian experimental psychologist， cognitive scientist， linguist and writer， succeeds in making us understand that there has never been a better time to live as human beings。 The advancement of progress is slow and therefore often unnoticed。 So， we often do not realiz Amid the pandemic and， often， the depressing flow of news from newspapers and newscasts， it is sometimes difficult to think positively。 In this extraordinary book， lucidly written， timely， eloquent and rich in data， Steven Pinker， Canadian experimental psychologist， cognitive scientist， linguist and writer， succeeds in making us understand that there has never been a better time to live as human beings。 The advancement of progress is slow and therefore often unnoticed。 So， we often do not realize that things are actually getting better。 Pinker shows us empirically， with a lot of data and examples， how illustration， with its dedication to science， reason， humanism and progress， has led people to live longer， healthier， freer and happier lives。 His optimism may not always match our judgment and personal experiences， but this book is a breath of fresh air in a world that seems to privilege bad news and destructive attitudes。 There is much to learn from this work and reading it is certainly an excellent investment of our time。 。。。more

Kristina ，

Ok， Mr。 Pinker （and Mr。 Rosling）。 I will attempt to be a possibilist。

Matthias Abele ，

Awesome book。 Finally some positive， data backed information

Joshua ，

This was my first Steven Pinker book and it won't be my last。 From what I have gathered， this book is kind of Pinker's magnum opus。 It contains the distillation of The Better Angels of Our Nature and ties in some of what he has learned as a cognitive psychologist。 I'm not sure if this is true， though， because I didn't get a lot of what makes Steven Pinker stand out: his ability to explain the brain through language。 Nonetheless， the book was insightful and thought-provoking。Pinker starts the boo This was my first Steven Pinker book and it won't be my last。 From what I have gathered， this book is kind of Pinker's magnum opus。 It contains the distillation of The Better Angels of Our Nature and ties in some of what he has learned as a cognitive psychologist。 I'm not sure if this is true， though， because I didn't get a lot of what makes Steven Pinker stand out: his ability to explain the brain through language。 Nonetheless， the book was insightful and thought-provoking。Pinker starts the book by talking about human progress。 Our species， homo sapiens has been around for about 300，000 years。 Have we progressed？ Have we ameliorated life's wrongs？ How can we say if we've progressed？ What is progress？Pinker uses measurements that I think almost everyone can agree on。 He talks about the fact that our society is happier， healthier， and less crime-ridden。 We spend less time doing house work， we work fewer hours， and we live longer lives。 We know more about science。 We have greater access to understanding other people's cultures and we have greater means to travel。Pinker talks about the following:- Economics and inequality- Violence and crime- Education- Science- Climate Change- Nuclear Power- Happiness- Health- IQ- Cognitive Biases- Overall quality of livingOne of the funniest parts of the book is when he talks about ingratitude:Flying is the worst [area of ingratitude]。 Because people come back from flights and they tell you their story。 They're like， "It was the worst day of my life。 We get on the plane and they make us sit on the runway for 40 minutes。" Oh really？ Then what happened next？ Did you fly through the air incredibly like a bird？ Did you soar into the clouds impossibly？ Did you partake of the miracle of human flight and then land softly on human ground on giant tires that you can't even [explitive] perceive how they put air in them？ You're sitting in the chair in the sky。 You're like a Greek myth right now。 People say there are delays？ Air travels too slow？ New York to California in five hours。 That used to take 30 years and a bunch of you would die on the way there and you would get shot in the neck with an arrow and the other passengers would just bury you and put a stick there with your hat on it and keep walking。 The Wright Brothers would kick us all in the crotch if they knew。 At the end， Pinker goes into Humanism， and talks about the idea that we find common values not in God or in religion， but in trying to ameliorate what's wrong in the world。Because Pinker is very scientific， he discounts God and tries to convince the reader to do likewise。At the very end of the book， there's a quote that's worth repeating many times over:It goes something like this: We are born into a pitiless universe， facing steep odds against life-enabling order， and in constant jeopardy of falling apart。 We were shaped by a force that is ruthlessly competitive。 We are made from crooked timber， vulnerable to illusions， self-centeredness， and at times， astounding stupidity。 Yet human nature has also been blessed with resources that open a space for a kind of redemption。 We are endowed with a power to combine ideas recursively; to have thoughts about our thoughts。 We have an instinct for language， allowing us to share the fruits of our experience and ingenuity。 We are deepened with the capacity for sympathy， pity， imagination， compassion， commiseration。 。。。more

Zuhair ，

Amazing book to read。 Steven Pinker provided evidence and data about how the world is progressing better than before。 Eventhough utopia is impossible to achieve for humanity， we can't deny that there are numerous evidence of an increase in lifespan， social awareness， quality of living throughout the world。 Yes we still have a long way to go， but we should acknowledge that these are happening in our reality。 Reading this book definitely made me approach news and social media with skepticism。 It's Amazing book to read。 Steven Pinker provided evidence and data about how the world is progressing better than before。 Eventhough utopia is impossible to achieve for humanity， we can't deny that there are numerous evidence of an increase in lifespan， social awareness， quality of living throughout the world。 Yes we still have a long way to go， but we should acknowledge that these are happening in our reality。 Reading this book definitely made me approach news and social media with skepticism。 It's easy to fall into that pit of pessimism however， it's refreshing to see the progress of the world。 I would say there is always good things happening in the world。 。。。more

Neil Browning ，

Great ideas and a heartening read on our time - four stars because this feels more like a follow-on/update to other， more foundational work from the author。 That said， we do need a reminder of these core enlightenment concepts now more than ever

Jose Luis Ramirez ，

Extraordinario y magistral。

Susie Dugan ，

Very informative and interesting arguments to tackle today's problems with historic knowledge， present facts and future goals in mind。 Very informative and interesting arguments to tackle today's problems with historic knowledge， present facts and future goals in mind。 。。。more

Mukul Gupta ，

Strong overlap with Factfulness but worth a read。 this is something I recommend people to start with in non fiction。

Marcelo Kremer ，

I really thought I would enjoy this book。 I didn’t。My objective with this book was to read something positive， something to remind me that when we see the big picture， the world is in fact a better place than it was in the past。 That’s fairly obvious but I wanted to be reminded of it and explore it during these troubled times。 That’s not what happened。 This book just made me frustrated and I’ve given up on it after 10 chapters。 Here’s why:First， the book manages to be too long and too short at t I really thought I would enjoy this book。 I didn’t。My objective with this book was to read something positive， something to remind me that when we see the big picture， the world is in fact a better place than it was in the past。 That’s fairly obvious but I wanted to be reminded of it and explore it during these troubled times。 That’s not what happened。 This book just made me frustrated and I’ve given up on it after 10 chapters。 Here’s why:First， the book manages to be too long and too short at the same time。 Too many topics that are not well developed。 Now， I know knowledge and science are good and I absolutely agree with that but some of the ideas presented here were just bizarre。He suggests that people concerned about the environment are advocating for humanity to go back to living in caves。 Funny， I’ve never heard of anyone relevant in politics say anything remotely close to that。 Also， trying to equate Sanders to Trump made me feel I was reading a sad Facebook post by another internet lunatic。 There’s also a chapter saying sweatshops in third world countries are great and inequality is totally fine。 Just look at J。K。 Rowling （？！）。 。。。more

Mileswzj ，

We are living in an unprecedented peace， where signs of chaos are amplified by technology and journalism。 It is far from utopia and science， reason， and humanism， indeed， should be more popularized。 But it is better than the past by measure in many dimensions。At the end we have Steven Pinker contra Nietzsche。 But philosophy has long been used and misused by politics。 Further， how could a philosopher be misunderstood so much like Nietzsche？ His idea was propagandized by the people he would disdai We are living in an unprecedented peace， where signs of chaos are amplified by technology and journalism。 It is far from utopia and science， reason， and humanism， indeed， should be more popularized。 But it is better than the past by measure in many dimensions。At the end we have Steven Pinker contra Nietzsche。 But philosophy has long been used and misused by politics。 Further， how could a philosopher be misunderstood so much like Nietzsche？ His idea was propagandized by the people he would disdain the most。 His fun of playing with the art of language was misinterpreted by people who didn't read deeply enough。 Overman does not contradict the enlightenment ideal。Aside from this， Pinker's use of data to reveal the humanity progress is solid， at least mostly。 The first two chapters in Part three on Reason and Science are fascinating。 It is possible Pinker would extend the ideas in the last chapters in his 2021 new book， which I would be looking forward to。 。。。more

Florence Plaster ，

4。5 stars

Paige McLoughlin ，

a bit libertarian Pangloss but I respect Pinker's other work。 a bit libertarian Pangloss but I respect Pinker's other work。 。。。more

Cory Jones ，

I’m going to think about this book for a long， long time。 Part 2 gets a little long and repetitive， and if you’re a religious person it might be hard to read such blatant dismissals of religion and systems of religious belief。 But wow， what a fascinating look at human progress， and an intellectually honest accounting of where both the Western Right and Left miss the boat。 Definitely recommend。

Michael Winter ，

Reason leads to progress - it has， and it continues to do so。 This is Pinker's assertion。 Apparently， this is a debated conclusion。 Pinker's assertion does not necessarily obviate/dismiss the progress which may also have come from religious practice - but he certainly seems to count religion as mostly prohibitive when it comes to progress。 Pinker's disdain for faithiests is quite evident and while it seems preposterous to argue that reason has delivered much progress - I would have liked to see Reason leads to progress - it has， and it continues to do so。 This is Pinker's assertion。 Apparently， this is a debated conclusion。 Pinker's assertion does not necessarily obviate/dismiss the progress which may also have come from religious practice - but he certainly seems to count religion as mostly prohibitive when it comes to progress。 Pinker's disdain for faithiests is quite evident and while it seems preposterous to argue that reason has delivered much progress - I would have liked to see some acknowledgment of the progress wrought by faithiests and their institutions。 To be sure， those same institutions have indeed caused much harm - but so have those who relied solely on their reason。 I suppose it's an age-old question - are faith and reason mutually exclusive - or interdependent？ Not an incredibly helpful review， this 。。。 but I do enjoy Pinker's writing and find it quite compelling， though a potentially troubling challenge to anyone with a belief in God。 Read it if you want to be disabused of the notion that we are going backward today - more violence， less progress， more hate， more confusion， more tyranny - Pinker insists it's just not true。 。。。more

Simona ，

“Na vyššiu úroveň vedomia sa posunieme iba vtedy， keď si začneme uvedomovať， kde žijeme a aká je minulosť našej krajiny， ako sa vyvíjala rozmanitosť zvykov a náboženstiev v čase a priestore， pády a vzlety minulých civilizácií， keď pochopíme， že existuje mikrokozmos buniek a atómov a makromozmos planét a galaxií či nekonečné množstvo čísel， logických vzťahov a ich kombinácií。 Je to odmena za to， že patríme k mysliacemu druhu s dlhou históriou。”Uvedený výrok dokonale vystihuje hlavnú myšlienku a p “Na vyššiu úroveň vedomia sa posunieme iba vtedy， keď si začneme uvedomovať， kde žijeme a aká je minulosť našej krajiny， ako sa vyvíjala rozmanitosť zvykov a náboženstiev v čase a priestore， pády a vzlety minulých civilizácií， keď pochopíme， že existuje mikrokozmos buniek a atómov a makromozmos planét a galaxií či nekonečné množstvo čísel， logických vzťahov a ich kombinácií。 Je to odmena za to， že patríme k mysliacemu druhu s dlhou históriou。”Uvedený výrok dokonale vystihuje hlavnú myšlienku a posolstvo celej knihy - pripomenúť nám kto sme， kam sa nám podarilo dospieť， no najmä vďaka čomu sa nám to podarilo。 Je to skvelá pripomienka množstva úspechov našej civilizácie， ku ktorej je určite potrebné sa opäť vrátiť， ak nás ovládnu pochybnosti o tom， kam to s nami ako s ľudstvom speje。 Kniha je dobrou nadstavbou populárnejšiemu titulu Moc faktov， avšak v tejto knihe ide autor jednak do väčšej hĺbky， ale aj šírky a pokrýva tak ďalšie dôležité témy。 Navyše， jeho schopnosť pracovať so slovami a vetami a mnoho filozofických， ekonomických， historických a sociologických faktov robí z tejto knihy hodnotné dielo。 。。。more

Sara ，

للتحميل بالعربية مجانًاhttps://en。baytalhikma2。org/enlighten。。。 للتحميل بالعربية مجانًاhttps://en。baytalhikma2。org/enlighten。。。 。。。more

Dwayne Roberts ，

I really wanted to love this book。 It has some excellent passages， and it made me think more than most books I've read。 Unfortunately I found some of its conclusions to be based on false premises， and thus unsound。 Damn。 I really wanted to love this book。 It has some excellent passages， and it made me think more than most books I've read。 Unfortunately I found some of its conclusions to be based on false premises， and thus unsound。 Damn。 。。。more

Kevin Neal ，

TL/DR: life， it could be worse

Tina ，

It's rare for me to rate a book "one star" because I generally abandon reading a book that I think I will rate less than 3。 It's just pure opportunity cost for me。 Initially， I was interested in much of Pinker's book despite feeling lost in the depth of his philosophical arguments。 I felt I could benefit from trying to understand his point of view。 His argument for reason and praise for scientific accomplishments were central themes that kept my initial interest。 Past the half-way point I was co It's rare for me to rate a book "one star" because I generally abandon reading a book that I think I will rate less than 3。 It's just pure opportunity cost for me。 Initially， I was interested in much of Pinker's book despite feeling lost in the depth of his philosophical arguments。 I felt I could benefit from trying to understand his point of view。 His argument for reason and praise for scientific accomplishments were central themes that kept my initial interest。 Past the half-way point I was convinced the book was far too long to hold my focus。 Finally， the concluding chapters left me disappointed that I had devoted the time to this book。 I felt I had fallen victim of a philosophical （not necessarily scientific） point of view filled with hubris and elitist thinking。 Pinker could use some humility that comes from acknowledging that science has much left to discover。 While the book is very scholarly in intent， Pinker missed the opportunity to approach some of his topics in a more inspiring way。 For example， I would have enjoyed an exploration of the coexistence of progressive religious faith and science。 I assume Pinker's view is that this not possible。 As one who enjoys thoughtful but inspirational reading， this book produced a loud thud for me。 。。。more

Africa GOMEZ ，

A must read， a solid demonstration that progress fed by the fountains of the Englightment: reason， science and humanism has continuously happened， strongly informed by facts， dispeller of myths。 A hopeful book， much needed in these times。

Alvaro Hidalgo Rodriguez ，

Preaching to the converted in my case， but it was still nice to be reminded of how far we have come as a species and that， while there are still many problems to be solved， inequities to right， the history of our time since the “invention” of science cannot but leave us with optimism for a better future for all of us。

Dan Schnabel ，

Overwhelmingly optimistic， deeply humanistic and， as always with Pinker， well written and thoroughly researched - the list of references can inspire an lengthy want-to-read list。The read that the world as a whole is seeing the rewards of reason， science and The Enlightenment can be very satisfying， but it is wise of Pinker to present this as not something to be complacent about， but something to examine and build upon。But I would not recommend this to anyone on the wrong side of the trends， for Overwhelmingly optimistic， deeply humanistic and， as always with Pinker， well written and thoroughly researched - the list of references can inspire an lengthy want-to-read list。The read that the world as a whole is seeing the rewards of reason， science and The Enlightenment can be very satisfying， but it is wise of Pinker to present this as not something to be complacent about， but something to examine and build upon。But I would not recommend this to anyone on the wrong side of the trends， for example， anyone experiencing the effects of aging， stagnation， unemployment， or increasing ill-health。 It is nice to know to see graphical representations of all the ways in which the world is getting better， but this book is big on trends and averages。 If things seem to be getting worse for you as an individual， reading this might just add insult to injury。 The insult is unintended of course; this is just not the right book for you right now。 。。。more

Rami Bidshahri ，

My favorite book of all time: - Steven Pinker's seminal work in Enlightenment Now is an antithesis to the doom and gloom zeitgeist that is so prevalent in all arrays of modern life， from cable news， social media， newspapers， politics and western society at large。 - The ideals of 18th century Enlightenment fundamentally changed the trajectory of humanity for the better。 This pervasive change was due to the establishment of concepts such as reason， science， humanism and progress。 As an example， th My favorite book of all time: - Steven Pinker's seminal work in Enlightenment Now is an antithesis to the doom and gloom zeitgeist that is so prevalent in all arrays of modern life， from cable news， social media， newspapers， politics and western society at large。 - The ideals of 18th century Enlightenment fundamentally changed the trajectory of humanity for the better。 This pervasive change was due to the establishment of concepts such as reason， science， humanism and progress。 As an example， the Declaration of Independence （1776） and U。S。 Constitution （1789） can be viewed as documents that were highly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment。 - Humanity has made such momentous progress （see details below） in the past three centuries， from the doubling of life expectancy （from 40 to 81 in the developing world）， reducing global poverty （from 90% of humanity to 10% over 200 years）， increasing the availability sustenance and perhaps most importantly， the quality of life （think happiness） of the world。 Sadly， however， due to the pessimistic and overbearing influence of media （cable news， newspapers， social media） most people believe the world is actually getting worse （a concept called Optimism Gap）， which could not be further from the truth。  - Having gone through an imperfect evolutionary process which was designed to assist as a rudimentary survival guide， humans have evolved with cognitive faculties that worked well enough in traditional societies， but are biased towards irrationality in today's modern atmosphere。 We tend to view the world through simple stereotypes， underestimate the prevalence of randomness （and coincidences）， infer causation from correlation， overestimate our luck and intelligence and most unfortunately， hold others in contempt if they do not abide by our views。 We tend to demonize those who do not agree with us （attributing differences in opinion to stupidity， dishonesty and worse， inferiority）。- However， given all of the above， society can function under a set of pre-determined and widely understood points which promote progress。 Concepts like the encouragement to provide reasons for arguments， an emphasis on counterarguments and rebuttals and non-censorship will allow society， with all its flaws to progress。 - The stage for all of this is in a universe （and society） which is guided by the second law of thermodynamics （Law of Entropy） in which every （closed） system is on a path towards （technically， thermodynamic equilibrium） constant disorder （i。e。， entropy）。 It would be wise to remember that given the precariousness of societal orders and hierarchies， and the constant direction towards entropy， civility is delicately balanced by a set of rules and assumptions， that can be suddenly and inadvertently upended - examples abound: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand （WW1）， The September 11th Attacks （wars in Afghanistan and Iraq）， or the self-immolation of Mohamad Bouzizi （Arab Spring）。 -For all its flaws， human nature also contains the seeds of its own improvement as long as it is able to institute norms such as free speech， nonviolence， cooperation， cosmopolitanism， human rights （through science， education， media， art and democratic government） Unfortunately， however， we live in a time of counter-enlightenment: populism， lack of trust in democracy and experts， nostalgia for an idyllic past， and tribal。The tone of the news has become increasingly negative， words such as "horrific"， "terrible"， "fatal"， and "horrible" have become more common and indeed are more common than words like "terrific" or "good。" The graph below shows how global news coverage has slid into negativity， fueling the Optimism Gap and making people more susceptible to the Availability and Recency Biases。 - Let us examine some of the ways in which the world has become a better place to remind ourselves of the positives。-Life expectancy: A substantial increase in life expectancy as a result of a 450% reduction in childhood mortality （from 1965 to 2015）， a marked decline in maternal mortality and extended life expectancy for the elderly has resulted in life expectancy to more than double from 1910 to 2010。 - Life expectancy vs。 the last four centuriesHealthcare: discoveries such as chlorination of water， smallpox vaccine， polio vaccine， blood types， measles vaccine， penicillin， rehydration therapy and cough medicine have saved billions of lives （blood types alone saved 1 billion lives）。 - Food: Malnourishment has gone from 50% of society in 1947 to 13%， globally。 The discovery of adding nitrogen to fertilizers alone in the 20th century has been able to feed an additional 2。7 billion lives。 Our ability to grow food has also substantially improved - from 1961 to 2009 the amount of food growth with marginally the same amount of land increased by 30x。 Happiness: while "happiness" is an elusive metric to quantify， there is amble evidence of a strong correlation between life satisfaction and real GDP per capita - and as the world's wealth grows， so does its overall satisfaction。 Interestingly， absolute income， not relative income is what matters most for happiness。 - Since the world （due to laws of physics and the randomness of existence） is the way it is regardless of what people believe about it， there is a significant importance in using rationality， reason and science to try to do better for humanity （curing infections to sending a man to the moon）。 - The 21st century is an age of unprecedented access to knowledge， yet we have the advent of Trumpism， Brexit， Eurosceptism， Q-Anon and the like。 Unfortunately， an underfunded education system across the rich world （let alone the developing world） has resulted in a lack of critical thinking （most people don't know about the difference of correlation and causation， or probabilistic thinking or of their own Confirmation Bias）。 - Both the proverbial "left" and "right" are at fault for peddling to these illiterate fantasies; most depressingly， studies have shown that most people who identify as "liberal" or "conservative" in the political sense， become so warped by the tribalism of their political leaning that they cannot remain objective in the face of viewing and interpreting data that does not align with their political views （e。g。， gun control， abortion or crime rates）。 - So perhaps more than ever， we need a realignment with the ideals of promoting reason， rather than irrationality， science， rather than anecdotes and humanism， rather than religion， nationalism or other forms of societal "isms。 " Since our progress to this point as humanity should not be taken for granted。 We need to continue making strides in productivity， education and the economy to save the countless lives （e。g。， 300m lives were saved in the 20th century alone by the eradication of smallpox， what if we could do the same for influenza one day？） that can be saved by the continuation of our journey as a species towards betterment。 。。。more

Jaskaran Singh ，

The thing I learned from this book was that I dont know anything。 I had opinions on lot of things but they were made from very limited data set。 I will not make an opinion unless I have read both sides of an argument。 I felt that Pinker should have elaborated more in Part 1 and Part 3。 He should have written more on the topics of entropy and information。 The chapters of part 2 widened my horizon and I just hope that the claims Pinker makes are right。 One thing that I didn't like was that Pinker The thing I learned from this book was that I dont know anything。 I had opinions on lot of things but they were made from very limited data set。 I will not make an opinion unless I have read both sides of an argument。 I felt that Pinker should have elaborated more in Part 1 and Part 3。 He should have written more on the topics of entropy and information。 The chapters of part 2 widened my horizon and I just hope that the claims Pinker makes are right。 One thing that I didn't like was that Pinker was writing mostly about western world than the eastern world。 There was very few description about Asian subcontinent as 30% of population （India， Pakistan， Bangladesh， Indonesia） lives there。 If you are making a claim about humanity， you should make a special case about countries with one billion population。 Pinker writes a book every 3 years and he should have taken some more time to write this book。 Maybe live in a Asian country for 6 months to know more。The chapter was Reason was more on sarcasm than on reason。 The Science chapter was really good and I really enjoyed it。 Nonetheless， overall I this book was informative and exciting。 I loved this book as I have a strong bias towards data driven books。 I read "Factfullness" before this book which was a good thing as "Factfulness" made me optimistic and "Enlightenment Now" had data to back it up。 。。。more

George ，

Important book。 It does a good job in pointing out the need for objectivity when assessing the many global issues facing us， and comparing current status and progress to that of previous substantial time spans。 He quotes and references a ton of credible and authoritative sources in the process of pointing out， generally， that humankind is much better off now， and also compared with where we think we are。 It meshes well with the book "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World" by the l Important book。 It does a good job in pointing out the need for objectivity when assessing the many global issues facing us， and comparing current status and progress to that of previous substantial time spans。 He quotes and references a ton of credible and authoritative sources in the process of pointing out， generally， that humankind is much better off now， and also compared with where we think we are。 It meshes well with the book "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World" by the late Hans Rosling， which I read just prior to this book。He does point out a couple of major global issues that need to be tackled seriously， but sufficient progress hasn't been made and the clock is running - climate change being the main area。What doesn't suit my reading preferences is what I perceive as his too-often lapsing into academic gobblygood logic and reasoning。His website has some fabulous photography on the home page。 。。。more

Justas ，

While I agree with almost everything Pinker has to say in this book， I found the manner of presentation - endless lists of things that have improved， of people who made our life better， etc。 - quite tedious。 In a few cases his assertions （although just a few） his assertions felt a little bit streched。 Still， in general a great argument for progress， humanism and optimistic outlook

M。 Hansell ，

I have mixed feelings about this book。 I think mainly that's because the author comes across as defensive at times。 "Why didn't you fall all over yourself about my earlier book about human progress？ Well let me give it to you again in hundreds of pages。" The book is strong when talking about the enlightenment ideals， it just could have been better if these were expanded on more thoroughly。 Overall worth the slog through obvious points regarding human progress。 I have mixed feelings about this book。 I think mainly that's because the author comes across as defensive at times。 "Why didn't you fall all over yourself about my earlier book about human progress？ Well let me give it to you again in hundreds of pages。" The book is strong when talking about the enlightenment ideals， it just could have been better if these were expanded on more thoroughly。 Overall worth the slog through obvious points regarding human progress。 。。。more

Zelma ，

This was a fun read and I wholeheartedly agree that we have come far and should not give up :）But Pinker also severely downplays many important issues we face today。 An example: the section on climate change starts with a graph plotting CO2 emissions per $ of GDP over time that shows a downwards trend over the last 50 years。 For Pinker this is “the long sweep of decarbonisation”， no matter that the world’s total annual CO2 emissions （the next graph） have grown about 4 times over the same period。 This was a fun read and I wholeheartedly agree that we have come far and should not give up :）But Pinker also severely downplays many important issues we face today。 An example: the section on climate change starts with a graph plotting CO2 emissions per $ of GDP over time that shows a downwards trend over the last 50 years。 For Pinker this is “the long sweep of decarbonisation”， no matter that the world’s total annual CO2 emissions （the next graph） have grown about 4 times over the same period。 I would call this the “quick and efficient sweep of carbonisation”。Moments like these are serious flaws that contradict Pinker’s own （agreeable） narrative that we should base arguments on good data/science and that progress is not a miracle， but problem-solving。I get that Pinker wrote the book to remind people of the good things the world has achieved。 But there are enough good things that downplaying the bad on purpose is just not “enlightenment”。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0