Enlightenment continues: in defense of reason, science, humanism and progress

If it seems to you that the world is rolling into the abyss, look around. People now live longer, they are healthier, freer and happier than ever. In a breathless view of the state of mankind in the third millennium, the psychologist and popularizer of science Stephen Pinker calls us to distract from sensational headings of news and catastrophic predictions that so deftly play on cognitive distortions inherent in our thinking. Instead, he offers to turn to numbers and, with the help of seven dozen amazing graphs, demonstrates unprecedented progress not only of the West, but the whole world in all areas, from health and well -being to security, world and human rights.
This progress is not an accident and not the result of the action of external forces. This is a gift to the modern world from enlightenment figures, who were the first to think of that knowledge could be used in the name of the prosperity of all mankind. The ideas of education are not naive dreams at all. On the contrary, they worked - and this is an indisputable fact. Nevertheless, right now these ideas especially need our protection, since they are opposed by the characteristic shortcomings of human nature - traibalism, authoritarianism, demonization of strangers and magical thinking, which so much like to exploit modern demagogues. Yes, the problems facing humanity are huge, but they are all solved if we, continuing the work of education, use the mind for this, trust science and guide the ideals of humanism