BY STEVEN PINKER
Presents extensive data showing the progress of civilization since enlightenment.
4.0 stars out of 5 stars
The author, Professor Pinker, began with the story that a student asked him the question “Why should I live?” at the end of one of his lectures. Professor Pinker responded extemporaneously with a detailed two paragraph answer containing the essential ideas of enlightenment. The student’s question, and his impromptu but erudite answer, may well be the inducement for Professor Pinker to embark on the writing of “Enlightenment Now”.
Enlightenment refers to a movement which began in the 18th century. It stresses the belief that science and logic gives people more knowledge and understanding than tradition and religion. A sister movement, called Humanism, whose principles affirm meaning and morality without invoking gods, spirits, or souls. These principles are compatible with some Eastern religions, including Confucianism and Buddhism which always grounded their ethics in human welfare rather than divine dictates. Over more than two centuries, enlightenment ideas in general and scientific knowledge in particular, have brought increases in life span, health, sustenance, abundance, peace, safety, freedom, equal rights, literacy, knowledge, intelligence, happiness, and opportunities. Such increases signify that there is progress in civilization.
Yet, as the author points out, most of the world population is not aware or does not appreciate this immense progress. Indeed, newspapers, news outlets, commentators and editorial writers tend to concentrate on disasters and tragedies, as they attract attention. The general attitude is that a piece of good news is hardly newsworthy. Over time, the daily parade of bad news gives folks the impression that civilization has never faced greater peril. This misconception partially aided the rise of autocracies in several parts of the world, as well as the extreme right in the United States, which believed that the only way for progress is to tear down existing structures and rebuild from the ruins. Enlightenment and Humanism ideas are also under attack by religious folks. The choice of reason over divine doctrine; knowledge over ignorance; and the emphasis of science on proof over fiction, are hard for these folks to swallow. It is not surprising that 81 percent of white evangelical and born-again Christians voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
It is against the above background that the author undertakes to defend enlightenment ideas (reason, science and humanism). His arsenal includes commonsense arguments, deep historical as well as up-to-date knowledge, and above all, tons of data. There are 75 figures, showing the change over time of all types of human and societal data. Some examples: Life expectancy, income gains, battle deaths, leisure time, childhood deaths from infectious diseases. Hopefully, after seeing these data, a skeptical reader will agree that there has been much progress, and progress will continue if we persist in the enlightenment ideas.
Two examples of the accomplishments of science are worthy of highlighting: (a) Scientific knowledge eradicated smallpox, a painful and disfiguring disease which killed 300 million people in the 20th century alone. (b) We have, at our fingertips, virtually all the works of genius prior to our time, together with those of our own time, whereas the people who lived before our time had neither.
Threats, especially existential threats, including climate change and nuclear wars, are carefully examined and discussed. It is the author’s opinion that some threats are figments of cultural and historical pessimism. Others are genuine, but we can treat them not as apocalypses in waiting but problems to be solved.
Some of the authors’ arguments, while always erudite and well researched, are not easy to follow. Portions of the book are difficult to read. Examples are bringing the concept of entropy to the discussion of human affairs, and multiverse theory while defending humanism. It is probably safe to conjecture that readers who have limited knowledge of physics would have a hard time following these sections.
Below are examples of some noteworthy knowledge I gained from reading the book, ranging from amusing to serious:
- Science confirms politics wrecks your ability to do Math.”
- Politics makes us stupid.”
- In 1976, Mao single handedly and dramatically changed the direction of global poverty with one simple act: he died.”
- The author challenged famed astronomer Sir Martin Rees’ prediction that “A bioterror or bioerror will lead to one million casualties in a single event within a six-month period starting no later than Dec 31 2020”. The challenge resulted in the “long bet”, for $400, which will go to Givewell if either win. (https://longbets.org/9/) As of 2/28/23, the bet is still unresolved, since it is not certain whether COVID 19 originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in which case it would count as an instance of "bioerror" and Rees would win the bet. There is an agreed upon resolution of how this uncertainty is to be resolved. At the end of February, 2023, the agreed upon resolution has not been met, although a report from the Department of Energy assessed that Covid 19 pandemic most likely emerged from a laboratory leak in China. (This assessment, however, was deemed “low confidence”.)
In conclusion, the author presents very authoritative arguments, supported by data, of the amazing role that enlightenment ideas played in bringing about the progress of human civilization. It is impossible not to agree with the statement by Barack Obama, quoted in the book, that “if you had to choose blindly what moment you’d want to be born, you’d choose now.”
We are reminded by the author that It is the duty of every good citizen of the world to make sure that this progress continues into the future.
Let me close by returning to the student’s profound question “Why should I live?”, mentioned at the beginning of the review. Professor Pinker’s answer, while extremely erudite and fully elaborated in “Enlightenment Now”, may be somewhat difficult for the student to fully comprehend and appreciate. I cannot resist the temptation to offer the student a simpler alternative answer to her question, based on a quote of Richard Feynman, slightly modified:
Question: “Why should I live?”
Answer: (Lower case letters are my additions; the CAPS are Feynman’s original words.)
“NOBODY FIGURES OUT WHAT LIVE IS ALL ABOUT, AND IT DOEN’T MATTER. You should live TO EXPLORE THE WORLD. NEARLY EVERYTHING IS INTERESTING IF YOU GO INTO IT DEEP ENOUGH. With the knowledge and tools made available by science, the exploration should be extremely exciting and lots of fun.”
Link to Amazon Review: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1IRNSGG2BMAYJ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
2nd among 5853 ratings on 4/6/23
Audio Version on YouTube
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