Amogh Joshi reviews Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker

 

Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker

Enlightenment Now is a sociological and philosophical novel written by Steven Pinker, which, as suggested by the title, explores the progress made by the adoption of Enlightenment ideas by humanity, ranging from advances in scientific research all the way to its influence on human attainment of prosperity.

Throughout the novel, in contrast to many novels and declarations made by prominent voices that the state of society is deteriorating and humans must work towards developing a better future, Pinker presents a contrasting argument, that in fact, not only is society in its best state yet, but that we are continuing to improve, what with countless new technological advancements which continue to eradicate diseases across the world, develop new capabilities ranging from higher food production to conservation of nature, and overall increase human safety and happiness on average. Pinker takes an objective approach, as the bulk of the novel is divided into 17 different sections which each contain empirical metrics and statistically verified data proving his points. Even in the most subjective of points, be it quality of life or happiness, there is at least one figure and a detailed statistical explanation proving the author’s point, which reinforces the ideas he is trying to convey even further.

Although there was plenty of explanation of the positives of Enlightenment ideals and their positive effect on society, there was also a discussion of the dangers to these ideals which continue to appear in modern times. A big one that often comes up in such novels is AI. With the influence artificial intelligence already plays in our current lives and its incredible future potential, doomsday forecasts in relevance to a superintelligence, or, as described in science fiction, “robot uprising”, are all too common. In many books that I’ve read which cover the current and predicted future state of society, there is usually some mention of the dangers which technology plays, but curiously enough, there was little discussion of these sort of dangers. Pinker even took an opposing view on this specific claim, stating that AGI (artificial general intelligence) poses no threat to human society at all. As a whole, however, when discussing negative consequences of humanity with respect to Enlightenment ideals, Pincker focuses on those that are not created by man, but are instead inbuilt, from religious ideals attempting to stifle science, to political correctness and fundamentalism attacking free speech and the expression of novel ideas. While the concept of attacking such political ideals is not novel, far from it, Pinker takes less of an unbacked offensive and more of a reasonable explanation of why they should be dropped in favor of logic and reason.

Overall, the novel paints a fantastic picture of modern society and the progress that humans have made in contemporary times through the lens of one of most famous schools of thought, Enlightenment thinking. Evidence is key, and Pinker does not fail to deliver with well-research points and figures. The final part of the novel focuses on a defense three key concepts–reason, science, and humanism–which make up Enlightenment thinking, and provides a rich summarization of the ideals discussed throughout the novel and their applications into current scenarios.