Given the 24-hour news cycle to which we have grown accustomed, it’s
difficult to navigate life and think that everything is peachy. But
Steven Pinker has set out, first in The Better Angels of Our Nature, and now in Enlightenment Now,
to illustrate that there has never been a better time to be a human
being. In his new book, Pinker points out that the slow creep of
progress is not as newsworthy as, say, an earthquake or an explosion. So
it’s clear why we don’t always have the sense that things are getting
better. But the Enlightenment—with its dedication to science, reason,
humanism, and progress—has led people to live longer, healthier, freer,
and happier lives. And Pinker uses charts, data, history, and a firm
dedication to his cause to empirically prove that we are living in
better times. It makes sense to be skeptical of a scientist arguing that
that science is the answer. And his optimism won’t always jibe with
your personal experience or judgement. But there’s lots to chew on
here—and it’s so easy to obsess on the intrusions and negatives of
technology and “advancement” that this book can serve as a kind of
antidote. —Chris Schluep , the Amazon Book Review