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Enlightenment Now

The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

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Enlightenment Now

By: Steven Pinker
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible?

If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Yet, as Steven Pinker shows, if you follow the trendlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer and more prosperous - not just in the West but worldwide.

Such progress is no accident: it's the gift of a coherent value system that many of us embrace without even realising it. These are the values of the Enlightenment: of reason, science, humanism and progress. The challenges we face today are formidable. But the way to deal with them is not to sink into despair or try to lurch back to a mythical idyllic past; it's to treat them as problems we can solve, as we have solved other problems in the past. This is the case for an Enlightenment newly recharged for the 21st century.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site.

© Steven Pinker 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018

 21st Century Consciousness & Thought History & Philosophy Modern Movements Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Science Society Socialism Capitalism Humanism Middle East Social justice Africa Economic Inequality Iran

Critic Reviews

My new favourite book of all time (Bill Gates)
Exhilarating, magnificent, uplifting
This is the biggest story of our time. It's about the many ways in which the world is improving, and why we don't believe it (Fraser Nelson)
Pinker is right. Not just a bit right, but completely, utterly, incontrovertibly right ... for most people, life is better, even if they don't realise it (Dominic Sandbrook)
Awesome. The confidence with which Pinker tears through the issues that cause such deep anxiety today is compelling (William Davies)
A characteristically fluent, decisive and data-rich demonstration of why, given the chance to live at any point in human history, only a stone-cold idiot would choose any time other than the present (Sam Leith)
A new, optimistic view of the world ... Things are not as bad as your Facebook news feed makes them seem ... a cheerful, contrarian tract for dark times (Niall Ferguson)
A goldmine of startling graphs and killer facts about the way we live now. Everyone should read this book and, just for once, be enthralled by what humankind has achieved (Iain Macwhirter)
Brimming with surprising data and entertaining anecdotes ... a genuinely enlightening book (Jan-Werner Müller)
Today we are living healthier, wealthier lives - and it's thanks to the values of the Enlightenment ... a passionate book in praise of Enlightenment values (David Aaronovitch)
All stars
Most relevant
I loved "Better Angels" and this is a fitting sequel. A reminder that the big picture is a good one, regardless of what Facebook and Twitter may tell us.

Essential listening

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Overall this book makes a compelling argument for humanism, reason and enlightenment ideals, though it could have been much shorter.
The chapter on existentialism was certainly the weakest with some self defeating arguments, particularly with Pinker straw manning some of existential arguments.

Great story with some good arguments.

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gives insight and clarity to world views, history, fake news and where we are heading in the future

excellent read

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Vast information, Very interesting and reassuring topics.
It is questionable though, whether nuclear power as an alternative resource of energy production is reasonable. Europeans were protesting against the radio active waste disposal back in the 80s, and no one wanted such a disposal site in their vicinity. It is interesting to know that ever since that time exit strategies have been put in place and the energy production through nuclear power has decreased with no new plants to be build in Switzerland.
The only part I disliked was the writers personal view about US politics.
All considered a great book. Loved the accompanying graphs and tables.

Great Idea on pointing-out Human Achievements

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A tremendous work. Pinker uses research and facts to offer balance (and counter-balance) to the doom and gloom ideologies of this age. He is not the Pollyanna some would dismiss him as; he just offers perspective which in turn allows us to consider applying solutions to the world’s problems rather than sinking into nihilistic despair and radical destructive “activism”.

Important

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