25 Discussion Questions for Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker (With Analysis) | Chapterly Blog
Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now makes a sweeping, data-driven argument that life has gotten better by virtually every measure — and that the principles of the Enlightenment (reason, science, humanism, and progress) are responsible. These Enlightenment Now discussion questions examine whether Pinker's optimism is justified, how we should weigh progress against persistent problems, and whether the Enlightenment values he champions are sufficient for the challenges ahead. Whether you are in a book club, a philosophy course, or debating the state of the world, these questions will push you to engage seriously with both the data and the critics. Published in 2018, the book uses over seventy graphs to document improvements in life expectancy, health, wealth, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness across centuries. Pinker argues that these improvements are not accidental but the result of a specific intellectual framework — Enlightenment rationalism — and that attacks on reason, science, and humanism from both the political left and right threaten to reverse these gains. These 25 questions are organized by theme. Enlightenment Now Discussion Questions: The Case for Progress Pinker's opening argument is sweeping: that by virtually every measurable indicator -- life expectancy, literacy, poverty, violence, health, safety, freedom -- the world has...