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| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Enlightenment Now Steven Pinker, 2018-02-13 THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Bristles with pure, crystalline intelligence, deep knowledge and human sympathy' Richard Dawkins Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred, and irrationality. Yet Steven Pinker shows that this is an illusion - a symptom of historical amnesia and statistical fallacies. If you follow the trendlines rather than the headlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer, happier, more peaceful, more stimulating and more prosperous - not just in the West, but worldwide. Such progress is no accident: it's the gift of a coherent and inspiring value system that many of us embrace without even realizing it. These are the values of the Enlightenment: of reason, science, humanism and progress. The challenges we face today are formidable, including inequality, climate change, Artificial Intelligence and nuclear weapons. But the way to deal with them is not to sink into despair or try to lurch back to a mythical idyllic past; it's to treat them as problems we can solve, as we have solved other problems in the past. In making the case for an Enlightenment newly recharged for the 21st century, Pinker shows how we can use our faculties of reason and sympathy to solve the problems that inevitably come with being products of evolution in an indifferent universe. We will never have a perfect world, but - defying the chorus of fatalism and reaction - we can continue to make it a better one. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Better Angels of Our Nature Steven Pinker, 2011-10-04 “If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this—the most inspiring book I've ever read. —Bill Gates (May, 2017) Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year The author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now offers a provocative and surprising history of violence. Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millenia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, programs, gruesom punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened? This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the esesnce of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives--the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away--and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: How the Mind Works Steven Pinker, 2009-06-02 Explains what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and ponder the mysteries of life. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Language Instinct Steven Pinker, 2010-12-14 A brilliant, witty, and altogether satisfying book. — New York Times Book Review The classic work on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind In The Language Instinct, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Rationality Steven Pinker, 2021-09-28 A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 'Punchy, funny and invigorating ... Pinker is the high priest of rationalism' Sunday Times 'If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective' Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing? In Rationality, Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply an irrational species - cavemen out of time fatally cursed with biases, fallacies and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives and set the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains, we think in ways that suit the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we have built up over millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, causal inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book - until now. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire and empower. 'A terrific book, much-needed for our time' Peter Singer |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Seven Words You Can't Say on Television Steven Pinker, 2008-09-04 Why do so many swear words involve sex, bodily functions and religion? Why are some words rude and others aren't? Why can launching into expletives be so shocking - and sometimes so amusing? Steven Pinker takes us on a fascinating and funny journey through the world of profanities, taken from his bestselling The Stuff of Thought, to show us why we swear (whatever our language or culture), how taboos change and how we use obscenities in different ways. You'll discover that in Québecois French the expression 'Tabernacle' is outrageous, that the Middle Ages were littered with four-letter words, that 'scumbag' has a very unsavoury origin and that in a certain Aboriginal language every word is filthy when spoken in front of your mother-in-law. Covering everything from free speech to Tourette's, from pottymouthed celebrities to poetry, this book reveals what swearing tells us about how our minds work. (It's also a bloody good read). |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Sense of Style Steven Pinker, 2014-09-30 “Charming and erudite, from the author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now, The wit and insight and clarity he brings . . . is what makes this book such a gem.” —Time.com Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing—and why should we care? From the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now. In this entertaining and eminently practical book, the cognitive scientist, dictionary consultant, and New York Times–bestselling author Steven Pinker rethinks the usage guide for the twenty-first century. Using examples of great and gruesome modern prose while avoiding the scolding tone and Spartan tastes of the classic manuals, he shows how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right. The Sense of Style is for writers of all kinds, and for readers who are interested in letters and literature and are curious about the ways in which the sciences of mind can illuminate how language works at its best. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Do Humankind’s Best Days Lie Ahead? Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley, Alain de Botton, Malcolm Gladwell, 2016-06-07 Progress. It is one of the animating concepts of the modern era. From the Enlightenment onwards, the West has had an enduring belief that through the evolution of institutions, innovations, and ideas, the human condition is improving. This process is supposedly accelerating as new technologies, individual freedoms, and the spread of global norms empower individuals and societies around the world. But is progress inevitable? Its critics argue that human civilization has become different, not better, over the last two and a half centuries. What is seen as a breakthrough or innovation in one period becomes a setback or limitation in another. In short, progress is an ideology not a fact; a way of thinking about the world as opposed to a description of reality. In the seventeenth semi-annual Munk Debates, which was held in Toronto on November 6, 2015, pioneering cognitive scientist Steven Pinker and bestselling author Matt Ridley squared off against noted philosopher Alain de Botton and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell to debate whether humankind’s best days lie ahead. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Lost in the Spanish Quarter Heddi Goodrich, 2019-09-10 As seen in the New York Times Book Review. Set in the passionate, intense, and crumbling neighborhood known as the Spanish Quarter of Naples, comes a tale of two students searching for love and belonging in the city they so desperately want to call home. Years after leaving Naples with a broken heart, Heddi receives an email from her first love. Although she now lives in New Zealand, just the thought of the Spanish Quarter’s narrow, winding streets sparks the pain of longing. Heddi had found her place in that city built on Roman ruins and set against a sleeping volcano. A place she wants to call home despite being l’americana or the American. For Heddi’s group of university friends, Naples is either a refuge from their familial responsibilities or an entryway to a wider world. But for all of them, Naples was their real university of life: the setting of their unrestrained youth. When Heddi first met Pietro at a party hosted by her bohemian roommates, she was inexplicably drawn to the serious geology student. Despite coming from wildly different backgrounds—Heddi, a nomadic American; Pietro, an Italian farm boy—the two fell into a liberating romance. She was searching for the roots she never had, while he tried to escape his. Yet even after the two were doomed to part ways, their story isn’t finished just yet. Inspired by her own 10-year search for belonging in Naples, author Heddi Goodrich gives readers a passionate tale of a life caught between two worlds and a heartfelt ode to first love—of a place, of a person— where languages and cultures collide while dreams soar and crash in unexpected ways. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Blank Slate Steven Pinker, 2003-08-26 A brilliant inquiry into the origins of human nature from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Enlightenment Now. Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read..also highly persuasive. --Time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Updated with a new afterword One of the world's leading experts on language and the mind explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts. Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Science of Enlightenment Shinzen Young, 2018-08-01 Enlightenment—is it a myth or is it real? Across time and culture, inner explorers have discovered that the liberated state is a natural experience, as real as the sensations you are having right now. Few teachers achieve clarity with the application of scientific inquiry to these states of consciousness like Shinzen Young. Now in paperback, The Science of Enlightenment makes Young’s essential insights available to readers everywhere. The Science of Enlightenment merges scientific precision, Young’s grasp of the source-language teachings of many spiritual traditions, and his rare gift for sparking insight upon insight through original analogies and illustrations. The result: an uncommonly lucid Aha, now I get it! guide to mindfulness meditation—how it works and how to use it to enhance our cognitive capacities, compassion, and experience of happiness independent of conditions. For meditators of all levels and lineages, this multifaceted wisdom gem will be sure to surprise, provoke, illuminate, and inspire. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Kickass Single Mom Emma Johnson, 2017-10-17 When Emma Johnson's marriage ended she found herself broke, pregnant, and alone with a toddler. Searching for the advice she needed to navigate her new life as a single professional woman and parent, she discovered there was very little sage wisdom available. In response, Johnson launched the popular blog Wealthysinglemommy.com to speak to other women who, like herself, wanted to not just survive but thrive as single moms. Now, in this complete guide to single motherhood, Johnson guides women in confronting the naysayers in their lives (and in their own minds) to build a thriving career, achieve financial security, and to reignite their romantic life—all while being a kickass parent to their kids. The Kickass Single Mom shows readers how to: • Build a new life that is entirely on their own terms. • Find the time to devote to health, hobbies, friendships, faith, community and travel. • Be a joyful, present and fun mom, and proud role model to your kids. Full of practical advice and inspiration from Emma's life, as well as other successful single moms, this is a must-have resource for any single mom. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Stuff of Thought Steven Pinker, 2007-09-11 This New York Times bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Sense of Style and Enlightenment Now. Curious, inventive, fearless, naughty. --The New York Times Book Review Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books - including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate - have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today's most important popular science writers. In The Stuff of Thought, Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoots & Leaves. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Rule Makers, Rule Breakers Michele Gelfand, 2019-08-20 A celebrated social psychologist offers a radical new perspective on cultural differences that reveals why some countries, cultures, and individuals take rules more seriously and how following the rules influences the way we think and act. In Rule Makers, Rule Breakers, Michele Gelfand, “an engaging writer with intellectual range” (The New York Times Book Review), takes us on an epic journey through human cultures, offering a startling new view of the world and ourselves. With a mix of brilliantly conceived studies and surprising on-the-ground discoveries, she shows that much of the diversity in the way we think and act derives from a key difference—how tightly or loosely we adhere to social norms. Just as DNA affects everything from eye color to height, our tight-loose social coding influences much of what we do. Why are clocks in Germany so accurate while those in Brazil are frequently wrong? Why do New Zealand’s women have the highest number of sexual partners? Why are red and blue states really so divided? Why was the Daimler-Chrysler merger ill-fated from the start? Why is the driver of a Jaguar more likely to run a red light than the driver of a plumber’s van? Why does one spouse prize running a tight ship while the other refuses to sweat the small stuff? In search of a common answer, Gelfand spent two decades conducting research in more than fifty countries. Across all age groups, family variations, social classes, businesses, states, and nationalities, she has identified a primal pattern that can trigger cooperation or conflict. Her fascinating conclusion: behavior is highly influenced by the perception of threat. “A useful and engaging take on human behavior” (Kirkus Reviews) with an approach that is consistently riveting, Rule Makers, Ruler Breakers thrusts many of the puzzling attitudes and actions we observe into sudden and surprising clarity. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Third Path David Tranter, Lori Carson, Tom Boland, 2018 The Third Path was developed in response to issues being faced by today's educators. The Third Path integrates well-being and academics by shifting the classroom focus from tasks to relationships, from checklists to check-ins. It views education as a journey of human development, not just for the student, but for the educator too.--Page [4] of cover. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Language, Cognition, and Human Nature Steven Pinker, 2013-11 Collects for the first time Steven Pinker's most influential scholarly work on language and cognition. Pinker is a highly eminent cognitive scientist, and these essays emphasize the importance of language and its connections to cognition, social relationships, child development, human evolution, and theories of human nature. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Books do Furnish a Life Richard Dawkins, 2021-05-06 'A rich feast of his essays, reviews, forewords, squibs and conversations, in which talent and passion are married to deep knowledge.' Matt Ridley 'Enjoy the unfailing clarity of his thought and prose, as well as the grandeur of his vision of life on Earth.' - Mark Cocker, Spectator 'Richard Dawkins is a thunderously gifted science writer.' Sunday Times Including conversations with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley and more, this is an essential guide to the most exciting ideas of our time and their proponents from our most brilliant science communicator. Books Do Furnish a Life is divided by theme, including celebrating nature, exploring humanity, and interrogating faith. For the first time, it brings together Richard Dawkins' forewords, afterwords and introductions to the work of some of the leading thinkers of our age - Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert - with a selection of his reviews to provide an electrifying celebration of science writing, both fiction and non-fiction. It is also a sparkling addition to Dawkins' own remarkable canon of work. Plenty of other scientists write well, but no one writes like Dawkins... here is Dawkins the teacher, the scholar, the polemicist, the joker, the aesthete, the poet, the satirist, the man of compassion as well as indignation, the slayer of superstition and, above all, the scientist. - Areo Magazine |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Sexual Paradox Susan Pinker, 2010-01-11 After four decades of eradicating gender barriers at work and in public life, why do men still dominate business, politics and the most highly paid jobs? Why do high-achieving women opt out of successful careers? Psychologist Susan Pinker explores the illuminating answers to these questions in her groundbreaking first book. In The Sexual Paradox, Susan Pinker takes a hard look at how fundamental sex differences continue to play out in the workplace. By comparing the lives of fragile boys and promising girls, Pinker turns several assumptions upside down: that the sexes are biologically equivalent; that smarts are all it takes to succeed; that men and women have identical goals. If most children with problems are boys, then why do many of them as adults overcome early obstacles while rafts of competent, even gifted women choose jobs that pay less or decide to opt out at pivotal moments in their careers? Weaving interviews with men and women into the most recent discoveries in psychology, neuroscience and economics, Pinker walks the reader through these minefields: Are men the more fragile sex? Which sex is the happiest at work? What does neuroscience tell us about ambition? Why do some male school drop-outs earn more than the bright, motivated girls who sat beside them in third grade? Pinker argues that men and women are not clones, and that gender discrimination is just one part of the persistent gender gap. A work world that is satisfying to us all will recognize sex differences, not ignore them or insist that we all be the same. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Language Learnability and Language Development Steven Pinker, 1996-02 In this influential study, Steven Pinker develops a new approach to the problem of language learning. Now reprinted with new commentary by the author, this classic work continues to be an indispensable resource in developmental psycholinguistics. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Coddling of the American Mind Greg Lukianoff, Jonathan Haidt, 2018-09-04 Something is going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and afraid to speak honestly. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths are incompatible with basic psychological principles, as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. They interfere with healthy development. Anyone who embraces these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—is less likely to become an autonomous adult able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to produce these untruths. They situate the conflicts on campus in the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization, including a rise in hate crimes and off-campus provocation. They explore changes in childhood including the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Rich Russians Elisabeth Schimpfössl, 2018-05-29 The lives of wealthy people have long held an allure to many, but the lives of wealthy Russians pose a particular fascination. Having achieved their riches over the course of a single generation, the top 0.1 percent of Russian society have become known for ostentatious lifestyles and tastes. Nevertheless, as Elisabeth Schimpfössl shows in this book, their stories reveal a bourgeois existence that is distinct in its circumstances and self-definition, and far more complex than the caricatures suggest. Rich Russians takes a deep and unprecedented look at this group: their personal stories, trajectories, ideas about life and how they see their role and position both on top of Russian society as well as globally. These people grew up and lived through a historically unique period of economic turmoil and social change following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But when taken in a wider historical context, their lives follow a familiar path, from new money to respectable money; parvenus becoming part of Society. Based on interviews with millionaires, billionaires, their spouses and children, Rich Russians concludes that, as a class, they have acquired all sorts of cultural and social resources which help consolidate their personal power. They have developed distinguished and refined tastes, rediscovered their family history, and begun actively engaging in philanthropy. Most importantly, they have worked out a narrative to justify why they deserve their elitist position in society - because of who they are and their superior qualities - and why they should be treated as equals by the West. This is a group whose social, cultural and political influence is likely to outlast any regime change. As the first book to examine the transformation of Russia's former robber barons into a new social class, Rich Russians provides insight into how this nation's newly wealthy tick. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: First You Write a Sentence. Joe Moran, 2018-09-27 A STYLE GUIDE BY STEALTH - HOW ANYONE CAN WRITE WELL (AND FULLY ENJOY GOOD WRITING) 'Joe Moran is a wonderfully sharp writer, calm, precise and quietly comical' Craig Brown Advanced maths has no practical use, and is understood by few. A symphony can be enjoyed, but created only by a genius. Good writing, however, can be written (and read) by anyone if we give it the gift of our time. Enter universally praised historian Professor Joe Moran. From the Bible and Shakespeare to Orwell and Diana Athill, First You Write a Sentence.show us how the most ordinary words can be turned into verbal constellations, sharing: - The tools of the trade; from typewriters to texting and the impact this has on the craft - Writing and the senses; how to make the world visible and touchable - How to find the ideal word, build a sentence, and construct a paragraph Good writing can ignite the hearts and minds of readers, help us notice the world better and live more meaningful lives. And it's a power we all can wield. 'What a lovely thing this is: a book that delights in the sheer textural joy of good sentences . . . Any writer should read it' Bee Wilson 'Thoughtful, engaging, and lively . . . when you've read it, you realise you've changed your attitude to writing (and reading)' John Simpson, formerly Chief Editor of the OED and author of The Word Detective 'Moran is a past master at producing fine, accessible non-fiction' Helen Davies, Sunday Times |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: More from Less Andrew McAfee, 2019-10-08 From the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Second Machine Age, a compelling argument—masterfully researched and brilliantly articulated—that we have at last learned how to increase human prosperity while treading more lightly on our planet. Throughout history, the only way for humanity to grow was by degrading the Earth: chopping down forests, fouling the air and water, and endlessly digging out resources. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the reigning argument has been that taking better care of the planet means radically changing course: reducing our consumption, tightening our belts, learning to share and reuse, restraining growth. Is that argument correct? Absolutely not. In More from Less, McAfee argues that to solve our ecological problems we don’t need to make radical changes. Instead, we need to do more of what we’re already doing: growing technologically sophisticated market-based economies around the world. How can he possibly make this claim? Because of the evidence. America—a large, high-tech country that accounts for about 25% of the global economy—is now generally using less of most resources year after year, even as its economy and population continue to grow. What’s more, the US is polluting the air and water less, emitting fewer greenhouse gases, and replenishing endangered animal populations. And, as McAfee shows, America is not alone. Other countries are also transforming themselves in fundamental ways. What has made this turnabout possible? One thing, primarily: the collaboration between technology and capitalism, although good governance and public awareness have also been critical. McAfee does warn of issues that haven’t been solved, like global warming, overfishing, and communities left behind as capitalism and tech progress race forward. But overall, More from Less is a revelatory, paradigm-shifting account of how we’ve stumbled into an unexpectedly better balance with nature—one that holds out the promise of more abundant and greener centuries ahead. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Nihil Unbound R. Brassier, 2007-11-08 This book pushes nihilism to its ultimate conclusion by linking revisionary naturalism in Anglo-American philosophy with anti-phenomenological realism in French philosophy. Contrary to the 'post-analytic' consensus uniting Heidegger and Wittgenstein against scientism and scepticism, this book links eliminative materialism and speculative realism. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Arts of Industry in the Age of Enlightenment Celina Fox, 2009 During the 18th century, the arts of industry encompassed both liberal and mechanical realms--not simply the representation of work in the fine art of painting, but the skills involved in the processes of industry itself. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources, Celina Fox argues that mechanics and artisans used four principal means to describe and rationalize their work: drawing, model-making, societies, and publications. These four channels, which form the four central themes of this engrossing book, provided the basis for experimentation and invention, for explanation and classification, for validation and authorization, and for promotion and celebration, thus bringing them into the public domain and achieving progress as a true part of the Enlightenment. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Asian 21st Century Kishore Mahbubani, 2022-01-01 This open access book consists of essays written by Kishore Mahbubani to explore the challenges and dilemmas faced by the West and Asia in an increasingly interdependent world village and intensifying geopolitical competition. The contents cover four parts: Part One The End of the Era of Western Domination. The major strategic error that the West is now making is to refuse to accept this reality. The West needs to learn how to act strategically in a world where they are no longer the number 1. Part Two The Return of Asia. From the years 1 to 1820, the largest economies in the world were Asian. After 1820 and the rise of the West, however, great Asian civilizations like China and India were dominated and humiliated. The twenty-first century will see the return of Asia to the center of the world stage. Part Three The Peaceful Rise of China. The shift in the balance of power to the East has been most pronounced in the rise of China. While this rise has been peaceful, many in the West have responded with considerable concern over the influence China will have on the world order. Part Four Globalization, Multilateralism and Cooperation. Many of the world’s pressing issues, such as COVID-19 and climate change, are global issues and will require global cooperation to deal with. In short, human beings now live in a global village. States must work with each other, and we need a world order that enables and facilitates cooperation in our global village. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy Karl Widerquist, 2016-12-05 How modern philosophers use and perpetuate myths about prehistoryThe state of nature, the origin of property, the origin of government, the primordial nature of inequality and war why do political philosophers talk so much about the Stone Age? And are they talking about a Stone Age that really happened, or is it just a convenient thought experiment to illustrate their points?Karl Widerquist and Grant S. McCall take a philosophical look at the origin of civilisation, examining political theories to show how claims about prehistory are used. Drawing on the best available evidence from archaeology and anthropology, they show that much of what we think we know about human origins comes from philosophers imagination, not scientific investigation.Key FeaturesShows how modern political theories employ ambiguous factual claims about prehistoryBrings archaeological and anthropological evidence to bear on those claimsTells the story of human origins in a way that reveals many commonly held misconceptions |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Learnability and Cognition, new edition Steven Pinker, 2013-05-24 A classic book about language acquisition and conceptual structure, with a new preface by the author, The Secret Life of Verbs. Before Steven Pinker wrote bestsellers on language and human nature, he wrote several technical monographs on language acquisition that have become classics in cognitive science. Learnability and Cognition, first published in 1989, brought together two big topics: how do children learn their mother tongue, and how does the mind represent basic categories of meaning such as space, time, causality, agency, and goals? The stage for this synthesis was set by the fact that when children learn a language, they come to make surprisingly subtle distinctions: pour water into the glass and fill the glass with water sound natural, but pour the glass with water and fill water into the glass sound odd. How can this happen, given that children are not reliably corrected for uttering odd sentences, and they don't just parrot back the correct ones they hear from their parents? Pinker resolves this paradox with a theory of how children acquire the meaning and uses of verbs, and explores that theory's implications for language, thought, and the relationship between them. As Pinker writes in a new preface, The Secret Life of Verbs, the phenomena and ideas he explored in this book inspired his 2007 bestseller The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. These technical discussions, he notes, provide insight not just into language acquisition but into literary metaphor, scientific understanding, political discourse, and even the conceptions of sexuality that go into obscenity. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Clear and Simple as the Truth Francis-Noël Thomas, Mark Turner, 2017-03-14 Everyone talks about style, but no one explains it. The authors of this book do; and in doing so, they provoke the reader to consider style, not as an elegant accessory of effective prose, but as its very heart. At a time when writing skills have virtually disappeared, what can be done? If only people learned the principles of verbal correctness, the essential rules, wouldn't good prose simply fall into place? Thomas and Turner say no. Attending to rules of grammar, sense, and sentence structure will no more lead to effective prose than knowing the mechanics of a golf swing will lead to a hole-in-one. Furthermore, ten-step programs to better writing exacerbate the problem by failing to recognize, as Thomas and Turner point out, that there are many styles with different standards. In the first half of Clear and Simple, the authors introduce a range of styles--reflexive, practical, plain, contemplative, romantic, prophetic, and others--contrasting them to classic style. Its principles are simple: The writer adopts the pose that the motive is truth, the purpose is presentation, the reader is an intellectual equal, and the occasion is informal. Classic style is at home in everything from business memos to personal letters, from magazine articles to university writing. The second half of the book is a tour of examples--the exquisite and the execrable--showing what has worked and what hasn't. Classic prose is found everywhere: from Thomas Jefferson to Junichirō Tanizaki, from Mark Twain to the observations of an undergraduate. Here are many fine performances in classic style, each clear and simple as the truth. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy Anthony Gottlieb, 2016-08-30 One of Slate’s 10 Best Books of the Year Anthony Gottlieb’s landmark The Dream of Reason and its sequel challenge Bertrand Russell’s classic as the definitive history of Western philosophy. Western philosophy is now two and a half millennia old, but much of it came in just two staccato bursts, each lasting only about 150 years. In his landmark survey of Western philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance, The Dream of Reason, Anthony Gottlieb documented the first burst, which came in the Athens of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Now, in his sequel, The Dream of Enlightenment, Gottlieb expertly navigates a second great explosion of thought, taking us to northern Europe in the wake of its wars of religion and the rise of Galilean science. In a relatively short period—from the early 1640s to the eve of the French Revolution—Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and Hume all made their mark. The Dream of Enlightenment tells their story and that of the birth of modern philosophy. As Gottlieb explains, all these men were amateurs: none had much to do with any university. They tried to fathom the implications of the new science and of religious upheaval, which led them to question traditional teachings and attitudes. What does the advance of science entail for our understanding of ourselves and for our ideas of God? How should a government deal with religious diversity—and what, actually, is government for? Such questions remain our questions, which is why Descartes, Hobbes, and the others are still pondered today. Yet it is because we still want to hear them that we can easily get these philosophers wrong. It is tempting to think they speak our language and live in our world; but to understand them properly, we must step back into their shoes. Gottlieb puts readers in the minds of these frequently misinterpreted figures, elucidating the history of their times and the development of scientific ideas while engagingly explaining their arguments and assessing their legacy in lively prose. With chapters focusing on Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Pierre Bayle, Leibniz, Hume, Rousseau, and Voltaire—and many walk-on parts—The Dream of Enlightenment creates a sweeping account of what the Enlightenment amounted to, and why we are still in its debt. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Humanism Stephen Law, 2011-01-27 Religion is currently gaining a much higher profile. The number of faith schools is increasingly, and religious points of view are being aired more frequently in the media. As religion's profile rises, those who reject religion, including humanists, often find themselves misunderstood, and occasionally misrepresented. Stephen Law explores how humanism uses science and reason to make sense of the world, looking at how it encourages individual moral responsibility and shows that life can have meaning without religion. Challenging some of the common misconceptions, he seeks to dispute the claims that atheism and humanism are 'faith positions' and that without God there can be no morality and our lives are left without purpose. Looking at the history of humanism and its development as a philosophical alternative, he examines the arguments for and against the existence of God, and explores the role humanism plays in moral and secular societies, as well as in moral and religious education. Using humanism to determine the meaning of life, he shows that there is a positive alternative to traditional religious belief. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Beyond the Power of Now L. Ron Gardner, 2012-09 Eckhart Tolle is perhaps the most popular spiritual guru in the world. His books have topped the New York Times Bestseller List, and his core teaching-achievement of liberation via the power of Now-has become the guiding light of the New Age movement. But according to L. Ron Gardner, author of Beyond the Power of Now, there is a problem-a big problem-with Tolle's core teaching: Tolle never explains what, exactly, the power of Now is. Is it the same thing as Hindu Shakti or the Buddhist Sambhogakaya or the Christian Holy Spirit? Tolle doesn't say. He continually refers to the Bible and Jesus in his book, but, shockingly, never once mentions the Holy Spirit and how it relates to the Power of Now. L. Ron makes it clear that the true Power of Now is the Holy Spirit, which is the same divine Light-energy as Hindu Shakti and the Buddhist Sambhogakaya. He explains and extolls the true power of Now and castigates Tolle for failing to identify and describe it. To some, Eckhart Tolle is a New Age visionary, describing a new earth that can materialize if mankind, en masse, awakens to the power of Now. But according to L. Ron Gardner, he is simply a histrionic ranter full of empty rhetoric. Throughout this book, L. Ron continually points out, from different angles, the folly of Tolle's New (or Now) Age chimera and describes the social system that represents mankind's sociopolitical salvation. Beyond Tolle's teaching about the power of Now and rhetoric about a new earth, L. Ron takes the renowned guru to task on virtually every subject he addresses. Most significantly, he rebuts his arguments that: 1) emotions can be trusted more than thought; 2) time is a mind-created illusion; 3) psychological time is insanity; 4) the present moment is the Now; 5) the inner body is the direct link to the Now; 6) your cells stop aging when you live in the Now; 7) women are spiritually more evolved than men; and 8) animals such as ducks and cats are Zen masters. Eckhart Tolle's teachings are replete with erroneous ideas, and L. Ron Gardner exposes the major flaws in his principal arguments while providing readers with integral solutions. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Words and Rules Steven Pinker, 2015-07-14 If you are not already a Steven Pinker addict, this book will make you one. -- Jared Diamond In Words and Rules, Steven Pinker explores profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple phenomenon -- regular and irregular verbs -- and examining it from every angle. With humor and verve, he covers an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities, from the history of languages to how to simulate languages on computers to major ideas in the history of Western philosophy. Through it all, Pinker presents a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. The idea extends beyond language and offers insight into the very nature of the human mind. This is a sparkling, eye-opening, and utterly original book by one of the world's leading cognitive scientists. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Fundamentals Frank Wilczek, 2021-01-12 “Fundamentals might be the perfect book for the winter of this plague year. . . . Wilczek writes with breathtaking economy and clarity, and his pleasure in his subject is palpable.” —The New York Times Book Review One of our great contemporary scientists reveals the ten profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical world In Fundamentals, Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek offers the reader a simple yet profound exploration of reality based on the deep revelations of modern science. With clarity and an infectious sense of joy, he guides us through the essential concepts that form our understanding of what the world is and how it works. Through these pages, we come to see our reality in a new way--bigger, fuller, and stranger than it looked before. Synthesizing basic questions, facts, and dazzling speculations, Wilczek investigates the ideas that form our understanding of the universe: time, space, matter, energy, complexity, and complementarity. He excavates the history of fundamental science, exploring what we know and how we know it, while journeying to the horizons of the scientific world to give us a glimpse of what we may soon discover. Brilliant, lucid, and accessible, this celebration of human ingenuity and imagination will expand your world and your mind. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Factfulness Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Ola Rosling, 2020-04-07 INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates “Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” —Melinda Gates Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases. - Former U.S. President Barack Obama Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. --- “This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance...Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: The Beginning of Infinity David Deutsch, 2011-07-21 The New York Times bestseller: A provocative, imaginative exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge “Dazzling.” – Steven Pinker, The Guardian In this groundbreaking book, award-winning physicist David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe—and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor. Taking us on a journey through every fundamental field of science, as well as the history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions, Deutsch tracks how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, explaining the conditions under which progress—which he argues is potentially boundless—can and cannot happen. Hugely ambitious and highly original, The Beginning of Infinity explores and establishes deep connections between the laws of nature, the human condition, knowledge, and the possibility for progress. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Employee Experience (EX) Leadership Nick Lynn, 2019-05-05 An insider's guide to employee engagement and employee experience (EX). Nick Lynn is a consultant who has worked in the field of employee insights for 20 years and the book is full of client stories and case studies. Trust is the essential ingredient in any successful business. The author looks at how leaders have built trust by making it safe for people to speak up and by using feedback to make meaningful changes. For decades, that has meant running employee surveys. With new technologies and new data science approaches, there are opportunities for companies to move far beyond traditional engagement programmes and to achieve much more. The book highlights those opportunities and also the risks. EX leadership refers to those companies that are leading the way in developing this new science, and also the key role that leaders play in shaping a compelling employee experience. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Pandemic, Public Health, and the People of God Melody Maxwell, 2023-04-12 What does public health have to do with Christianity? How should Christians and churches in Atlantic Canada and beyond respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic? In this first volume of East Coast Theology, the faculty of Acadia Divinity College reflect biblically and theologically on these questions. Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health for Nova Scotia, offers his insights as well. This book provides church members and leaders with theological foundations and practical ideas for ministering through health care. As a result, we hope that followers of Christ will be at the forefront of efforts for relief and healing on Canada's East Coast both today and in the future. As people called by God to care for others, our vision should be nothing less than this. |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: When Texas Prison Scams Religion Michael G. Maness, 2022-01-28 State ordained child torturer Minister prisoner represents the offices of the Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, TDCJ Director Bryan Collier, TBCJ, and wardens throughout the prison—but the greatest piece of fantasy is how the Executive Culture of cover ups came to see this Fools’ Parade as good for Texas, even “God’s will” to change the world. TDCJ destroys records of violence after 7 years and has hired the lowest qualified of the applicant pool many times in the last 25 years, even ordered the cleaning of contraband at the Polunsky Prison, and all those responsible for covering up a horde were promoted! 25 years of this! Who thinks a director that allowed that can competently supervise a naïve volunteer in a systemwide program of indenturing prisoners? Why is the director sponsoring psychopaths counseling psychopaths? Answer? MONEY—selling the Fools’ Parade Fantasy that buying faith from prisoners with favor turns them into saints after 4 years of Bible to naïve Evangelicals. Who thinks it JUSTICE that 400,000,000 hours of officer contact has zero definitive influence on parole when a commissioner spends |
| enlightenment now steven pinker free download: Leaving Left Behind Mike Wilson, 2021-01-19 Positive psychologists have proven that positivity leads to success, but most Christians in America have chosen to believe a single eschatological theory that leads to pessimism and cynicism. Pessimistic Christians put themselves in Christian bubbles and focus on self-preservation, and when a mind is clouded by negativity, interpretations of biblical prophecy lean toward the pessimistic possibilities. The fantastic writing of the Left Behind books has popularized premillennial dispensationalism with good intentions, but that interpretation of biblical prophecy teaches that sinfulness will continually increase until Jesus throws up his hands in disgust and secretly raptures worthy Christians, leaving behind unworthy sinners to suffer the wrath of the antichrist. Teaching that questionable theory produces negativity that hinders the Christian mission. When Christians believe that they cannot succeed in leading most of the world to Jesus, they will fail to put in the effort that success would require. Jesus, on the other hand, taught his followers that nothing will prevail over his church, and that teaching inspired them to sacrifice everything for the Christian mission. This is not a promise of prosperity without effort or of inevitable success, but biblical positivity is an energizing force that will help Christians flourish. |
Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia
The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was an intellectual and philosophical movement taking place in Europe from the late 17th century to the early …
Enlightenment | Definition, Summary, Ideas, Meaning, History ...
Jun 6, 2025 · Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a worldview …
The Enlightenment - World History Encyclopedia
Feb 29, 2024 · The Enlightenment (Age of Reason) was a revolution in thought in Europe and North America from the late 17th century to the late 18th century. The Enlightenment involved …
Enlightenment - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Aug 20, 2010 · Guided by D’Alembert’s characterization of his century, the Enlightenment is conceived here as having its primary origin in the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th …
Enlightenment Period: Thinkers & Ideas - HISTORY
Dec 16, 2009 · Enlightenment was a movement of politics, philosophy, science and communications in Europe during the 19th century.
What Is the Enlightenment and How Did It Transform Politics?
Feb 17, 2023 · The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that sought to improve society through fact-based reason and inquiry. …
What was the Enlightenment and why did it change the world?
In the 17th and 18th centuries, a bold movement swept across Europe, which introduced the idea that you could challenge authority, tradition, and centuries of established thought. Known as …
Age of Enlightenment - New World Encyclopedia
The Age of Enlightenment, sometimes called the Age of Reason, refers to the time of the guiding intellectual movement, called The Enlightenment. It covers about a century and a half in …
Smarthistory – The Age of Enlightenment, an introduction
Enlightenment. Toward the middle of the eighteenth century a shift in thinking occurred. This shift is known as the Enlightenment. You have probably already heard of some important …
The Enlightenment Causes and Effects - Encyclopedia Britannica
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers objected to the absolute power of monarchs and of the Roman Catholic Church. They used …
Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia
The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was an intellectual and philosophical movement taking place in Europe from the late 17th century to the early 19th …
Enlightenment | Definition, Summary, Ideas, Meaning, History ...
Jun 6, 2025 · Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a worldview …
The Enlightenment - World History Encyclopedia
Feb 29, 2024 · The Enlightenment (Age of Reason) was a revolution in thought in Europe and North America from the late 17th century to the late 18th century. The Enlightenment involved …
Enlightenment - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Aug 20, 2010 · Guided by D’Alembert’s characterization of his century, the Enlightenment is conceived here as having its primary origin in the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th …
Enlightenment Period: Thinkers & Ideas - HISTORY
Dec 16, 2009 · Enlightenment was a movement of politics, philosophy, science and communications in Europe during the 19th century.
What Is the Enlightenment and How Did It Transform Politics?
Feb 17, 2023 · The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that sought to improve society through fact-based reason and inquiry. The …
What was the Enlightenment and why did it change the world?
In the 17th and 18th centuries, a bold movement swept across Europe, which introduced the idea that you could challenge authority, tradition, and centuries of established thought. Known as …
Age of Enlightenment - New World Encyclopedia
The Age of Enlightenment, sometimes called the Age of Reason, refers to the time of the guiding intellectual movement, called The Enlightenment. It covers about a century and a half in …
Smarthistory – The Age of Enlightenment, an introduction
Enlightenment. Toward the middle of the eighteenth century a shift in thinking occurred. This shift is known as the Enlightenment. You have probably already heard of some important …
The Enlightenment Causes and Effects - Encyclopedia Britannica
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers objected to the absolute power of monarchs and of the Roman Catholic Church. They used …
