Why people recommend it
Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker is a nonfiction book that uses data and quantitative charts to argue that humanity has made remarkable progress in health, prosperity, safety, peace, and knowledge through the ideals of the Enlightenment. The book has been referenced across numerous podcasts by commentators discussing global optimism and human nature. On No Stupid Questions and The Joe Rogan Experience, hosts and guests like Jimmy Carr and Joe Rogan discussed Pinker's work as a vital counterweight to widespread pessimism, noting his evidence that the modern world is significantly less violent and more secure than in past eras. Conversely, on The Rubin Report, Ben Shapiro and Dave Rubin debated Pinker's overarching thesis regarding human nature and societal perfectibility. The book was also highlighted on All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg, where a host urged listeners to examine the text's two hundred striking data charts, and on People I (Mostly) Admire, where a past interview clip with Pinker revisited the foundational arguments of his philosophy.
Who recommended it
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 15
“Yeah, I mean I don't know Steven Pinker at all, but his book Enlightenment Now...”
“You know that Steven Pinker Enlightenment now book”
“I think human beings don't change, and the story of humanity is not humanity becoming ever better, sort of in the Steven Pinker notion.”
“Here is a clip from our very first episode with psychologist Stephen Pinker, and you just asked him to describe his book, Enlightenment.”
“Read Pinkner's book or Enlightenment Now and just go through those 200 charts he puts in there; it will blow your mind.”
“I've read the book. I think I've got it back here. You know, Pinker's book "Enlightenment Now."”
“no no yes not read any of Steven Pinker's work mm-hmm Steven Pinker is a really really brilliant guy and one of the things that he gets criticized for is showing how much less violent the world is today how much less crime there is how much less rape how much less murder”
“I'm a huge fan of the enlight the alignment in general in fact be you know Steven Pinker wrote that book enlightenment now that was the first book we chose to translating into Arabic”
“Steven Pinker who as a very famous author and philosopher whom I really adore wrote a great book called enlightenment now”
“There's a great there's a book by Steven Pinker I can't remember the name of it is escaping me but it's a it's a really good book about like um oh my god why can't any of the name uh can you look up a Steven Pinker book and it just essentially talks about like how things are actually because”
“5641 56:41 Yeah 5646 56:46 and enlightenment now whatever 5651 56:51 Yeah I read his books 5655 56:55 You know he's a very important thinker 5660 57:00 He's he's brilliant”
“and that's of course the point of Pinker's newest book enlightenment now know things are going freaking great turn it anarchy and all those things are really bad ideas voting for somebody like trumps a really bad idea because things are actually running along really nicely it's just that we tend to forget it because every advocacy group who's all”
“but I think overall if you look at the period of time we live in now you know and Steven Pinker wrote a great book about this and there's a lot of evidence that folks read his book yeah evidence that points to that”
“and you know his new book enlightenment now is that things are trending more positively”
“Joining me today is a Johnstone family professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University as well as a New York Times bestselling author whose new book enlightenment now is for sale right now Steven Pinker”