![]() If I could rename this book without worrying about marketing, my chosen title would be: Everybody Calm the Fuck Down: The Case for Sanity, by Steven Pinker. But Enlightenment Nowturned my frown upside down, made me feel good about being human again, and restored much of my belief that humanity still has a bright future (or many possible bright futures) ahead. ![]() Given the psychological and political difficulties of 2017, I was on the verge of thinking that such optimism was nothing more than shrugging in the face of inevitable doom. Nearly a decade later, I am thrilled not only to have another opportunity to journey through Pinker’s impressive mind, but also that his chosen message is rooted in data-driven, responsible optimism. ![]() Steven Pinker was one of the first writers to kindle my passion for scientific thinking. When I read The Blank Slatein 2011, it exposed me to a host of intellectual disciplines that my undergraduate training in philosophy had neglected––most notably evolutionary psychology, skepticism, and the empirical foundations of human nature. ![]()
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