Enlightenment Now

Steven Pinker, the Harvard College professor of psychology at Harvard University is the author of Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.

This blog promises to be about 'Images and Ideas'. So far there have been more images than ideas. I thought I would add a post about the book and Pinker's response to criticism of it.

I found it a great book, myself. I am quite persuaded that there is a distortion in journalism which feeds off bad news, and blinds us to positive changes. I am also convinced that pessimism is self-fulfilling. If people believe that things are getting worse and there is nothing that they can do about it, is is not surprising that they become passive and despairing.

Here is a TED talk by Pinker, which summarizes his views if you haven't read his book.

He has been criticized by some people for his optimism. Here is a lengthy response from him, which is worth reading.

Enlightenment Wars: Some Reflections on ‘Enlightenment Now,’ One Year Later

Years ago I gave a talk: Attitudes for Survival: can doom prophesy inhibit change? It reviews some of the evidence about attitude change.