Titre : | Enlightenment now : the case for reason, science, humanism, and progress |
Auteurs : | Steven Pinker |
Type de document : | Books |
Editeur : | New York : Penguin Press, 2019 |
Article en page(s) : | XVII, 556 p. |
ISBN/ISSN/EAN : | 978-0-14-311138-2 |
Langues: | Anglais |
Index. décimale : | 303.44 306 |
Tags : | Civilization, Modern--21st century ; Progress ; Social change ; Humanism ; Quality of life ; Enlightenment ; Reason |
Résumé : |
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 realizing 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. The follow-up to Pinker's groundbreaking The Better Angels of Our Nature presents the big picture of human progress: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science. Far from being a naive hope, the Enlightenment, we now know, has worked. But more than ever, it needs a vigorous defense. The Enlightenment project swims against currents of human nature--tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, magical thinking--which demagogues are all too willing to exploit. Many commentators, committed to political, religious, or romantic ideologies, fight a rearguard action against it. The result is a corrosive fatalism and a willingness to wreck the precious institutions of liberal democracy and global cooperation. The follow-up to Pinker's groundbreaking The Better Angels of Our Nature presents the big picture of human progress: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science. Far from being a naive hope, the Enlightenment, we now know, has worked. But more than ever, it needs a vigorous defence. The Enlightenment project swims against currents of human nature--tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, magical thinking--which demagogues are all too willing to exploit. Many commentators, committed to political, religious, or romantic ideologies, fight a rearguard action against it. The result is a corrosive fatalism and a willingness to wreck the precious institutions of liberal democracy and global cooperation. |
Exemplaires (1)
Code-barres | Cote | Support | Localisation | Section | Disponibilité |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
308059 | 303.44 306 PIN E | Book | Royal Military Academy | Economie, management & leadership | Disponible |