Report: Steven Pinker argues that we need to reason and science in an age of doom and gloom to make measured judgments on our surroundings
Cognitive scientist and Professor at the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, Steven Pinker was on RTÉ Radio One's Today with Sean O'Rourke show to discuss his new book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.
Pinker talked about how we need to replace the doom-and-gloom hype over fake news, climate change and the threat of nuclear missiles flying over our head with the realisation that health, safety, peace and prosperity are on the rise. He believes that we need to adopt the principles of the 18th century intellectual and political enlightenment movement which dictate that we look to reason and science to make measured judgments on our surroundings. If we do this, he says, we will see that our living standards in a great many respects are on the rise.
Take, for example, fears about war.
"We know that contrary to predictions that you and I grew up with that World War 3 was inevitable and it would be a nuclear war. There’s nothing anyone could do to stop it. The Cold War ended, the Soviet Union went out of existence and that World War 3 never happened, that no nuclear weapon has been used since Nagasaki… We also know that nuclear arsenal has been reduced by 85% since the height of the Cold War."
Pinker says that the number of wars and the death rate during war has been steadily decreasing in the last few decades. What about the worry over population growth?
"The population is expected to level off in the 21st century. As people get richer and better educated, they have fewer children so it’s not true that we’re just going to grow exponentially forever. Just as what happened in Europe, namely population levelled off, that’s likely to happen in the world as a whole."
If we’re not worried about war and population growth, surely we need to worry about climate change? Yes, says Steven, but on the whole, we’re moving in the right direction.
"Climate change is a major unsolved problem… but pathways towards decarbonizing the economy have been laid out. I think it’s imperative that we implement them. If we do then the crisis can be averted but all the more reason for them to be taken seriously."
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Full interview with Steven Pinker from RTÉ Radio One's Today WIth Sean O'Rourke Show
