Enlightenment Now: The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism, And Progress

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 assessment of the human condition in the third millennium, Steven Pinker urges us to follow the data: In seventy-five graphs, he shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, worldwide. This progress is a gift of the Enlightenment: the conviction that reason and science can enhance human flourishing. The Enlightenment has worked, but it needs a vigorous defense against currents of human nature that threaten it. Enlightenment Now makes the case for reason, science, and humanism as essential to addressing our problems and sustaining progress.