Enlightenment again now
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Description
Book Introduction
- A word from MD
-
Steven Pinker's new book: Is the world really going to hell?Is this world, struggling with resource depletion, polarization, climate change, and viruses, heading for ruin? Steven Pinker, the world-renowned scholar and author of "The Better Angels of Our Nature," says the world is getting better.
Now, data-driven research shows intriguingly that the Enlightenment is necessary to further human progress.
October 5, 2021. Natural Science PD Kim Tae-hee
A masterpiece by a world-renowned scholar that will give you a ray of hope!
Bill Gates praised it as “the best book I’ve ever read.”
A global bestseller translated into 33 languages
Is the world truly going to hell? Has the ideal of progress become obsolete? In this elegantly crafted account of the human condition in the third millennium, cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to move beyond lurid headlines and bleak prophecies.
In all those curses that portray our psychological biases as demons.
Instead, listen to objective data.
Showing 75 astonishing graphs, Pinker demonstrates that life, health, prosperity, security, peace, knowledge, and happiness are increasing not only in the West but also around the world.
This progress is not the result of some cosmic force or the magic of a crystal ball.
Its source is the Enlightenment, the belief that knowledge can advance human prosperity.
As we have already realized, the Enlightenment was not a naive hope; it actually worked.
But stronger advocacy is needed than ever.
Enlightenment opposes the human nature that agitators love to exploit: tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, magical thinking.
The Enlightenment is by no means a consensus among all intellectuals, and it is fiercely attacked by pessimists in religious, political, and cultural circles who claim that Western civilization is beyond redemption.
As a result, fatalism is spreading like a cancer, and precious institutions based on liberal democracy and global cooperation are in danger of being wrecked.
Pinker challenges cynicism and fear.
Are humans inherently irrational? Do we really need religion to establish morality? Has modernity left us with only loneliness and suicide? Are we living in a "post-truth age"? An "age of fear"? At what point will all-out nuclear war, resource depletion, climate change, and unleashed artificial intelligence destroy all of this? Pinker, with his intellectual depth and literary talent, defends reason, science, and humanism.
Those precious ideals that are essential for us to confront the problems of reality and continue the progress of humanity.
Bill Gates praised it as “the best book I’ve ever read.”
A global bestseller translated into 33 languages
Is the world truly going to hell? Has the ideal of progress become obsolete? In this elegantly crafted account of the human condition in the third millennium, cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to move beyond lurid headlines and bleak prophecies.
In all those curses that portray our psychological biases as demons.
Instead, listen to objective data.
Showing 75 astonishing graphs, Pinker demonstrates that life, health, prosperity, security, peace, knowledge, and happiness are increasing not only in the West but also around the world.
This progress is not the result of some cosmic force or the magic of a crystal ball.
Its source is the Enlightenment, the belief that knowledge can advance human prosperity.
As we have already realized, the Enlightenment was not a naive hope; it actually worked.
But stronger advocacy is needed than ever.
Enlightenment opposes the human nature that agitators love to exploit: tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, magical thinking.
The Enlightenment is by no means a consensus among all intellectuals, and it is fiercely attacked by pessimists in religious, political, and cultural circles who claim that Western civilization is beyond redemption.
As a result, fatalism is spreading like a cancer, and precious institutions based on liberal democracy and global cooperation are in danger of being wrecked.
Pinker challenges cynicism and fear.
Are humans inherently irrational? Do we really need religion to establish morality? Has modernity left us with only loneliness and suicide? Are we living in a "post-truth age"? An "age of fear"? At what point will all-out nuclear war, resource depletion, climate change, and unleashed artificial intelligence destroy all of this? Pinker, with his intellectual depth and literary talent, defends reason, science, and humanism.
Those precious ideals that are essential for us to confront the problems of reality and continue the progress of humanity.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
Starting the book 9
Part 1 Enlightenment
Chapter 1: Dare to Know! 25
Chapter 2: Entropy, Evolution, and Information 37
Chapter 3: Counter-Enlightenment 59
Part 2 Progress
Chapter 4: Progressophobia 71
Chapter 5 Life 93
Chapter 6 Health 107
Chapter 7 Food 117
Chapter 8, Part 133
Chapter 9: Inequality 159
Chapter 10: Environment 195
Chapter 11 Peace 247
Chapter 12 Safety 263
Chapter 13: Terrorism 297
Chapter 14 Democracy 309
Chapter 15: Equality Rights 331
Chapter 16 Knowledge 359
Chapter 17: Quality of Life 379
Chapter 18: Happiness 401
Chapter 19: Existential Threats 443
Chapter 20: The Future of Progress 493
Part 3: Reason, Science, and Humanism
Chapter 21: Reason 531
Chapter 22 Science 581
Chapter 23: Humanism 619
Later Zhou 685
Reference 764
Translator's Note 834
Search 839
Part 1 Enlightenment
Chapter 1: Dare to Know! 25
Chapter 2: Entropy, Evolution, and Information 37
Chapter 3: Counter-Enlightenment 59
Part 2 Progress
Chapter 4: Progressophobia 71
Chapter 5 Life 93
Chapter 6 Health 107
Chapter 7 Food 117
Chapter 8, Part 133
Chapter 9: Inequality 159
Chapter 10: Environment 195
Chapter 11 Peace 247
Chapter 12 Safety 263
Chapter 13: Terrorism 297
Chapter 14 Democracy 309
Chapter 15: Equality Rights 331
Chapter 16 Knowledge 359
Chapter 17: Quality of Life 379
Chapter 18: Happiness 401
Chapter 19: Existential Threats 443
Chapter 20: The Future of Progress 493
Part 3: Reason, Science, and Humanism
Chapter 21: Reason 531
Chapter 22 Science 581
Chapter 23: Humanism 619
Later Zhou 685
Reference 764
Translator's Note 834
Search 839
Detailed image
Publisher's Review
In a world dominated by populism, polarization, anti-intellectualism and hatred of progressivism,
Is it possible to revive the dream of enlightenment and progress?
We will never have a perfect world, and pursuing such a world would be dangerous.
But as we continue to apply knowledge to advance human flourishing, there will be no limits to the ways we can improve the world.
This heroic story is not just another myth.
Myths are fiction, but this story is fact - fact that is infallible in the light of our best knowledge, the only truth we can have.
We believe the truth because we have reason to believe it.
As we learn more, we will be able to determine which parts of the story remain true and which are false.
Any phrase can be false, and any phrase can become false.
Moreover, the story is not one of any one tribe, but of all humanity, of all sentient beings who have the power of reason and the will to assert that reason exists.
To write that story, all you need is the conviction that life is better than death, health is better than sickness, abundance is better than poverty, freedom is better than oppression, happiness is better than suffering, and knowledge is better than superstition and ignorance.
--- From the text
Finding the truth from data, evidence, and facts
Meet the new face of Steven Pinker, the great 21st-century enlightenment thinker!
Clear writing, eloquent and timely, armed with abundant data, and a powerful defense of a rational humanism, this is a truly excellent book.
And it's going to be a really cool read.
- [New York Times Book Review]
The most noble scientific writing!
- [Science Magazine]
A passionate and compelling defense of reason and science, and a reminder that progress has been a valuable asset to us in no small measure.
- [Philadelphia Inquirer]
A meticulous defense of science, objective analysis, and a pointed rebuttal to the tribalism, partisan logic, and fake news that confound our politics!
- [San Francisco Chronicle]
A weighty book filled with amazing data and fascinating information!
- [Financial Times]
It presents powerful examples that prove that history since the Enlightenment has been a history of improvement!
- [Scientific American]
A book that could not be better, once again elevating the values of reason, knowledge, and curiosity.
- The Boston Globe
It perfectly defends the values of modernity against the fear of progress.
- [Times Higher Education]
It deals a powerful blow to the modern mysticism spread by tribalists on both the left and the right.
- [Reason]
This book provides graphs and data that fair-minded people must see.
And Pinker's conclusion is, as always, provocative.
- [Colorado Springs Gazette]
This book contains every reason for humanity to be optimistic about life in the 21st century.
A progressive defense that will provoke deep thought and discussion among his fans and everyone else.
- [Booklist]
Pinker defends the idea of progress against contemporary critics, pundits, cold thinkers, and populist politicians to demonstrate how far humanity has come since the Enlightenment.
It is a moving and important book.
- [Publisher's Weekly]
Although it deals with political and social issues, it is a flawless book filled with interesting information from various fields such as neuroscience and cognitive psychology.
The author examines how the Enlightenment, in a world where declineism and pessimism are commonplace, has shaped our lives into something our ancestors would envy.
- [Kirkus Review]
Is it possible to revive the dream of enlightenment and progress?
We will never have a perfect world, and pursuing such a world would be dangerous.
But as we continue to apply knowledge to advance human flourishing, there will be no limits to the ways we can improve the world.
This heroic story is not just another myth.
Myths are fiction, but this story is fact - fact that is infallible in the light of our best knowledge, the only truth we can have.
We believe the truth because we have reason to believe it.
As we learn more, we will be able to determine which parts of the story remain true and which are false.
Any phrase can be false, and any phrase can become false.
Moreover, the story is not one of any one tribe, but of all humanity, of all sentient beings who have the power of reason and the will to assert that reason exists.
To write that story, all you need is the conviction that life is better than death, health is better than sickness, abundance is better than poverty, freedom is better than oppression, happiness is better than suffering, and knowledge is better than superstition and ignorance.
--- From the text
Finding the truth from data, evidence, and facts
Meet the new face of Steven Pinker, the great 21st-century enlightenment thinker!
Clear writing, eloquent and timely, armed with abundant data, and a powerful defense of a rational humanism, this is a truly excellent book.
And it's going to be a really cool read.
- [New York Times Book Review]
The most noble scientific writing!
- [Science Magazine]
A passionate and compelling defense of reason and science, and a reminder that progress has been a valuable asset to us in no small measure.
- [Philadelphia Inquirer]
A meticulous defense of science, objective analysis, and a pointed rebuttal to the tribalism, partisan logic, and fake news that confound our politics!
- [San Francisco Chronicle]
A weighty book filled with amazing data and fascinating information!
- [Financial Times]
It presents powerful examples that prove that history since the Enlightenment has been a history of improvement!
- [Scientific American]
A book that could not be better, once again elevating the values of reason, knowledge, and curiosity.
- The Boston Globe
It perfectly defends the values of modernity against the fear of progress.
- [Times Higher Education]
It deals a powerful blow to the modern mysticism spread by tribalists on both the left and the right.
- [Reason]
This book provides graphs and data that fair-minded people must see.
And Pinker's conclusion is, as always, provocative.
- [Colorado Springs Gazette]
This book contains every reason for humanity to be optimistic about life in the 21st century.
A progressive defense that will provoke deep thought and discussion among his fans and everyone else.
- [Booklist]
Pinker defends the idea of progress against contemporary critics, pundits, cold thinkers, and populist politicians to demonstrate how far humanity has come since the Enlightenment.
It is a moving and important book.
- [Publisher's Weekly]
Although it deals with political and social issues, it is a flawless book filled with interesting information from various fields such as neuroscience and cognitive psychology.
The author examines how the Enlightenment, in a world where declineism and pessimism are commonplace, has shaped our lives into something our ancestors would envy.
- [Kirkus Review]
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: August 31, 2021
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 864 pages | 1,390g | 162*233*47mm
- ISBN13: 9791191187298
- ISBN10: 1191187292
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