Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

Why is reason the “foremost” value that the Enlightenment championed? How does Pinker portray pre-Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment Europe in terms of people’s ability to solve issues using reason? Cite examples from the text in your response.

How does Pinker use graphs and statistics to support his argument? Choose a graph and explain how Pinker uses it as a tool of persuasion.

What does Pinker consider “progressophobia” and how does he explain this phenomenon? What are its consequences?

How does Pinker employ primary sources to bring his data to life? Choose three examples of primary sources that Pinker quotes, and explain how they support his argument and their effect on you.

How does Pinker grapple with different approaches to environmentalism? Why does he both praise and criticize the movement, and what kind of environmentalism does he advocate for?

Pinker acknowledges the significant environmental harms human civilization has inflicted on the earth—and the potentially devastating effects of climate change. How does Pinker nevertheless create a sense of “conditional” optimism for the future? Cite details from the text in your response.

Pinker condemns people from across the political spectrum for being “anti-Enlightenment.” According to Pinker, how do left-wing and right-wing people resist reason, science, and humanism?

Pinker concludes his assessment of equality by examining society’s treatment of children. How has the common perception of children and childhood changed over the last several centuries? How did the Enlightenment influence this change?