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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.

©2018 Steven Pinker (P)2018 Penguin Audio Consciousness & Thought History & Philosophy Movements Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Science Society Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Inspiring Humanism Economic disparity 21st Century Economic inequality

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Worth the time I spent listening. I used to be a deep pessimist but this book has opened my eyes wider than ever. It has given me so much optimism for our future. Good for the 'soul'.

Feeling enlightened!

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a master of evidence based reasoning. could not stop listening to this excellent performance. Will do it again in a couple of weeks!

just brilliant!

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Summary: Science is awesome and everything is getting better. Prove me wrong.

Explains a lot what is happening now.

Recommend listening.

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A stunning book which I am going to have to listen to again.

It is dense and detailed (and long); full of data, information and opinion. Pinker tackles some of the most challenging issues of our world, from war, suffering, happiness, climate change and nuclear Armageddon.

It is a positive, but not utopian look at our world and offers an expectation that we can “get it right”.

I’m now going to start again from chapter one and listen more carefully.

Wow!

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Thank you Mr Pinker for writing such an essential book. Let's leave doom-mongery in our unenlightened past.

Essential for our time Essential for our time

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The world is so much happier, safer, more productive and capable of achieving amazing feats than rolling news or printed press would have you believe. Listening to Pinker's undeniable reason read by Arthur Morey is like the calming voice of a parent talking a terrified child back to happiness after a nightmare.

Made me so happy

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If you adjust the listening speed to 1.2x you’ll have a much better experience than the original speed.

Other than that, this is a must read. In a world of sound bites and Instagram meme info, this book provides distance and perspective that’s well researched and well articulated.

I will definitely be returning to sections of this book again and again when the world seemingly gets to be too much.

Wonderfully encouraging. A must read!

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This is a must read for everyone. I was very much a fatalist prior to this book but he uses data and undeniable logic and rationale to show a much more optimistic view of human kind. It has genuinely changed my perception of the world.

Utterly fantastic.

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Steven Pinker is my favourite popular science writer. And this book I año exception. One petpeeve would be him not talking enough about mental health but since everything else really helped me in a hard mental health time I can overlook it. This book is really what it aims to be and I just really want more people to read it. His once-in-a-while are also tasteful and funny.

Relevant! Argumentative! Goes to the point.

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I can't recommend this book enough. A fantastically rational and we'll present account of the current state of affairs. An insightful and positive perspective on the world. 🌍

A truly positive perspective shifter

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