Long Now Foundation
The Enlightenment “worked”, says Steven Pinker. By promoting reason, science, humanism, progress, and peace, the programs set in motion by the 18th-Century intellectual movement became so successful we’ve lost track of what that success came from.
Some even discount the success itself, preferring to ignore or deny how much better off humanity keeps becoming, decade after decade, in terms of health, food, money, safety, education, justice, and opportunity. The temptation is to focus on the daily news, which is often dire, and let it obscure the long term news, which is shockingly good.
This is the 21st Century, not the 18th, with different problems and different tools. What are Enlightenment values and programs for now?
“A New Enlightenment” was given on March 13, 02018 as part of Long Now’s Seminar series. The series was started in 02003 to build a compelling body of ideas about long-term thinking from some of the world’s leading thinkers. The Seminars take place in San Francisco and are curated and hosted by Stewart Brand. To follow the talks, you can:
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Some portion of any population will always prefer Savonarolan cults to the possibilities offered by progress.
Pinker hung out with Epstein. No time for this guy
Take note on how all this progress and human happiness was/is OPPOSED by religion. The Enlightenment was opposed tooth and nail by the church. Had it not happened (had the church won…) we'd be living in Christian Taliban-land now. D.A., J.D. NYC
explicit commitment