Book Read Free

Enlightenment Now

Page 81

by Steven Pinker


  and wars within Muslim-majority countries, 439

  See also ISIS; terrorism and terrorists

  Islamophobia, 219, 440, 441–2

  anti-Islamic hate crimes, 219–20, 220

  Ismail, Gululai, 443

  Israel

  agriculture of, 129

  cyber-sabotage and, 304

  happiness ranking of, 475n30

  nuclear weapons and, 317, 318

  and war, 313

  Italy

  child labor force in, 231–2, 231

  emancipative values in, 225–7, 226, 227

  Fascism of, 445, 446

  homicide rates in, 169, 170

  literacy in, 236

  poverty and, 79

  social spending in, 108

  Jacobs, Alan, 283

  Jainism, 23

  Jamaica, homicide rates in, 172

  Jamison, Dean, 67

  Japan

  education in, 237, 237, 238

  emancipative values in, 225–7, 226, 227

  fertility rates falling in, 125

  nuclear power and, 146, 147

  secularization and, 436, 489n68

  social spending in, 108

  and World War II, 158, 161, 196, 305, 314

  Jaspers, Karl, 23

  Jefferson, Thomas, 27, 95, 412, 417

  Jencks, Christopher, 116

  Jenner, Edward, 63, 65

  Jensen, Robert, 95

  Jervis, Robert, 197, 311–12

  Jetsons, The, 330

  Jindal, Bobby, 387

  Johnson, Samuel, 162

  jokes, bigoted, 217–19, 218, 471n13

  Jonassohn, Kurt, 160–61

  Juárez, Mexico, homicide rate in, 172

  Judaism

  and Axial Age, 23

  humanistic branches, 412

  religiosity and, 440

  Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur, 167–8

  and schools, development of formal, 233

  Talmudic debate, 379

  See also anti-Semitism

  Jussim, Lee, 373

  Kahan, Dan, 154, 357–8, 360–61, 366, 381, 382–3

  Kahneman, Daniel, 41, 353, 383, 404

  Kahn, Herman, 309

  Kaku, Michio, 308

  Kalahari “Bushmen” (San people), 249, 353–4

  Kant, Immanuel

  and arguments for the existence of God, 421

  categorical imperative of, 412

  as cognitive psychologist, 392

  and deontology, 416

  on enlightenment, 7

  and human nature, 10

  and irrationality of humans, 8–9, 353, 482n6

  on peace, 13–14, 162, 163

  on progress, 11

  Kass, Leon, 60, 389

  Kazakhstan, nuclear weapons relinquished by, 313

  Keith, David, 153–4

  Kelley, Jonathan, 101

  Kellogg-Briand (Paris Peace) pact (1928), 163–4

  Kellogg, Frank, 164

  Kelly, Kevin, 254, 301–2, 304, 344–5, 477n20

  Kelsey, Elin, 292

  Kendall, Henry, 308

  Kendrick, Pearl, 64

  Kennedy, John F., 31, 312, 336

  Kenny, Charles, 65, 95

  Kenya, 54–5, 71, 71, 436

  Kepler, Johannes, 424

  Keynes, John Maynard, 347, 400

  Khomeini, Ayatollah, 447

  Khrushchev, Nikita, 312

  Kim Il-sung, 447

  Kim Jong-il, 78

  Kim Jong-un, 313

  King, Martin Luther, Jr., 223, 405

  Kingston, Maxine Hong, 284

  Kinzer, Stephen, 420

  Kissinger, Henry, 316

  Klein, Daniel, 362–3

  Klein, Naomi, 138–9

  knowledge, 21, 233–46

  computation and, 21

  populism and disdain for, 333

  Trump’s disdain for, 336

  unity of, as consilience of humanities and science, 390, 406–9, 486n13

  See also education; literacy; reason

  Knowlton, Nancy, 122

  Koch, Charles and David, 139

  Korean War, 49, 157, 158, 160

  Kosovo, 203

  Kotler, Steven, 330

  Kozol, Jonathan, 456n1

  Krasnow, Max, 140

  Krauss, Lawrence, 308

  Kristof, Nicholas, 373

  Kuhn, Thomas, 395, 486n21

  Kunstler, James, 465n76

  Kurzweil, Ray, 60

  Kuwait, 171

  conquest by Iraq (1990–91), 163

  Kuznets curve

  carbon emissions, 143, 143

  economic inequality, 103–6, 110, 111

  environmental, 124, 463n9, 463n35

  Kuznets, Simon, 103, 104

  Kyrgyzstan, 203

  labor movement, paid vacation and, 251

  Lacan, Jacques, 406

  Lahiri, Jhumpa, 284

  Lamarckian process, 399

  Landsteiner, Karl, 64

  language

  communication of ideas using, 27

  development of, 23

  Indo-European, 398

  writing, 27

  Lanier, Jaron, 477n20

  Lankford, Adam, 196, 198

  Laplace, Pierre-Simon, 24, 298

  Lasch, Christopher, 456n1

  Laski, Harold, 400, 418

  Latin America. See South and Central America

  Latinos, 239, 336

  law enforcement. See police; rule of law

  Lawrence, D. H., 446

  Lears, Jackson, 388

  Leavis, F. R., 34, 92–3, 446

  Lebanon, 490n96

  Leetaru, Kalev, 50

  Lehrer, Tom, 48, 126

  Lenin, Vladimir, 447

  Lennon, John, 166

  Lepper, Mark, 359–60

  Lesotho, 172

  Lessing, Doris, 261

  Levi, Michael, 313

  Levitsky, Steven, 206

  Lewis, Sinclair, 284

  Lewis, Wyndham, 446, 447

  Lewontin, Richard, 114

  LGBT rights. See homosexuality and homophobia

  Liar’s Paradox, 352

  liberal values. See emancipative values

  Libya, 193, 313

  Liebenberg, Louis, 353–4

  life and living things as anti-entropic, 18–19, 20

  life expectancy, 53–61, 54, 58

  child mortality, 55–7, 56

  developed vs. developing countries, 54–5, 95–6

  fallacious pessimism about, 53

  immortality, 60–61

  and quantifiable index of global well-being, 245–6, 246, 473n45

  light, artificial, 253–4, 253–4

  lightning strike deaths, 189, 189

  Lilla, Mark, 447, 449

  Lincoln, Abraham, 45–6

  linguistics, 407

  Linker, Damon, 390, 448

  Lister, Joseph, 63

  literacy, 235–6, 236

  African Americans and, 219

  of females, 239–40, 239, 473n27

  literature

  and human knowledge, 433

  scholarship in, as discipline, 407–8

  See also arts and culture; humanities

  Lithuania, 278

  living standards

  of the 1950s, 113–14

  intellectual scorn for, 34, 446

  Optimism Gap and, 115

  sympathy and, 34

  Locke, John, 230, 412

  London, England, 63, 130, 135r />
  London, Jack, 446

  Long Peace, 43, 157–8, 451

  and civil wars, 158–60, 466n11

  and democracies, rise of, 162–3, 200

  Kellogg-Briand pact and, 163–4

  realpolitik and, 163

  trade and commerce and, 162

  See also international community

  Lord, Charles, 359–60

  lottery, winning, 270

  Louis C.K., 262–3, 264

  Lovelock, James, 465n76

  Loving, Richard and Mildred, 376

  Lucas, Robert, 89

  Lutheranism, 412

  Macaulay, Thomas, 327–8

  McCloskey, Deirdre, 84

  McGinn, Colin, 427–8

  McKibben, Bill, 465n76

  McNally, Richard, 281

  McNamara, Robert, 74, 319

  Macron, Emmanuel, 339

  Madfis, Erik, 198

  Madison, James, 13, 407

  Maduro, Nicolás, 91, 171

  magical thinking, 5, 249

  Mahbubani, K., 459n16

  Maher, Bill, 374

  Maher, Shiraz, 5, 443

  Mahmood, Omar, 443

  Mailer, Norman, 447, 456n1

  Malamud, Bernard, 284

  malaria, 66, 66

  Malaysia, 57, 200, 203, 442, 457n8

  Malthusian Era, 54

  Malthus, Thomas, 73–4

  Mandela, Nelson, 91

  Mann, Thomas, 446

  Mao Zedong

  death of, 90, 208

  as leader, 78, 91, 143

  and nuclear weapons, 313

  repression under, 203, 208

  Western intellectuals as admirers of, 447

  Marcotte, Amanda, 358–9

  Marcuse, Herbert, 39–40

  Marcus, Gary, 477n20

  marijuana, 175, 185

  Maritain, Jacques, 418

  Marxism

  Critical Theory as quasi-Marxist, 396–7

  human costs of, 78, 90–91, 101, 107, 165, 200, 247–8, 271, 364, 430

  intellectuals’ sympathy with, 31, 364, 372, 447

  See also communism

  Marxist guerrillas and terrorists, 158, 195, 197, 198

  Marx, Karl, 103, 165, 349, 405

  Maslow, Abraham, 224

  massive open online courses (MOOCs), 238

  Mateen, Omar, 215, 216

  maternal mortality, 57–68, 57

  Maurras, Charles, 448

  meaningful life, 3–4

  contrasted with happy life, 267–8

  Enlightenment ideals and, 3–4

  freedom and, 265–6

  humanistic caring and, 434–5

  Humanist Manifesto III on, 411

  measles, 66

  Medellín, Colombia, 172

  media

  about things that happen vs. don’t happen, 41

  anxiety produced by, 286–7

  Availability heuristic and, 42, 201

  Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, 282

  child labor exposed by, 230

  climate change coverage, 151

  dystopian rhetoric of, 50, 343

  fact-checking and, 375–6, 380

  gravitas market, 49, 293, 452

  liberal tilt of journalism, 372–3, 484n54

  mental health perceptions and, 282–3

  “nuclear war” less mentioned, 310, 479n80

  and pessimism, 40–41, 50, 343

  political coverage, improvement of, 381, 383

  populism and, 343–4

  and shift from glorifying to exposing leaders, 50

  terrorism coverage, recommendations for, 197–8

  time scale of positive vs. negative events, 41

  tone of the news (1945–2010), 50–51, 51

  Trump’s election, role of, 50, 343, 376, 449

  Trump’s threats to, 336

  and violence, portrayal of, 42, 215–16

  workplace safety coverage, 186

  —NEGATIVE NEWS AS FOCUS OF, 42, 50

  anxiety and depression and, 286–7

  children and, 229

  cumulative psychological effects of, 292

  equal rights and, 215

  incremental system change, loss of belief in, 50

  upticks of problems and, 44

  viewed as duty of journalists, 49

  Medicare, 109

  medicine

  blood groups, 64

  evidence-based, 380

  future gains not calculated in life expectancy, 60

  and immortality, hope for, 60–61

  new technologies for, 331

  progress in, as incremental, 55, 61

  sterilization of hands and equipment, 63, 67

  See also drugs, pharmaceutical; health; health care; infectious disease; vaccines

  Medvedev, Dmitry, 316

  Meehl, Paul, 403–4

  Mellers, Barbara, 367–8, 370–71

  memory, autobiographical, 3, 48, 407

  Mencken, H. L., 446

  men. See sex differences; women

  mental health and illness

  cognitive behavioral therapy, 175, 282

  depression, 280–83, 284, 476n74

  disease mongering/concept creep, 281–2

  drugs for, 281, 282

  and freedom, 285

  paradox of, 282

  as percentage of global burden of disease, 282

  rates of depression and anxiety, 282–3, 476n74

  See also anxiety; suicide

  mental models, 22–3

  Mercier, Hugo, 380

  Merton, Robert, xvii–xviii

  methane (natural gas), 136, 143, 147, 183

  methodological naturalism, 421–2

  Mexican-American War (1946–48), 163

  Mexico

  agriculture in, 76

  homicide rates in, 169, 170, 172

  literacy in, 236

  Mexican Revolution, 199

  social spending in, 109

  Trump and immigration from, 336

  women’s rights in, 222

  Meyer, Bruce, 116

  microwave ovens, 252

  Midas, King, 299

  Middle Ages

  accidental death rates in, 180–81

  belief in external forces, 9–10

  cost of artificial light in, 253, 253

  homicide in, 43, 168

  poverty and, 79–80

  private militias as ubiquitous in, 197

  racism and slavery of, 397

  middle class

  globalization and effects on, 112, 113, 118–19, 339, 340

  worldwide increase of, 86, 459–60n18

  Middle East and North Africa

  carbon emissions of, 144

  communist governments in, 200

  education in, 236–7, 237

  emancipative values in, 227–8, 227, 439

  imperialist interventions in, 439

  literacy and, 236

  refugees from, and European populism, 338

  See also Arab countries; Muslim countries; individual countries

  Milanović, Branko, 104–5, 111, 112, 113

  military governments, 200

  military spending, 162, 467n18

  Millennials, 225

  depression and, 476n74

  digital technology and, 244

  happiness and, 273

  as increasingly liberal, 217

  low voter turnout in Trump’s election, 343

  secularization and, 437

  suicide and, 280

  we
ll-being of, 283

  Miller, George, 314

  Mill, John Stuart, 373, 417

  Milošević, Slobodan, 447

  mind-body dualism, 3, 22, 422, 427

  mining safety and working conditions, 185, 230

  minority rights, populist disregard for, 333, 340

  misanthropy

  of cultural criticism, 34, 247, 446

  of traditional environmentalism, 122, 134, 154

  Mishima, Yukio, 446

  Missouri, capital punishment in, 211

  mobile phones/smartphones, 94–5, 257, 331

  Mokyr, Joel, 82–3, 332

  Molière, 411

  Monbiot, George, 264

  Mongolia, 85, 86

  Monitoring the Future (youth survey), 185

  monotonicity, 44

  Montefiore, Hugh, 465n76

  Montesquieu, 8, 10, 12, 13, 223

  Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 392

  Mooney, Chris, 387

  Moore, Patrick, 465n76

  Moore’s Law, 46, 298, 330

  morality

  as balancing desires conflicting with others’, 414

  basis of, 412–15, 419

  capital punishment abolition and, 211–12, 213

  deontological, 416–18

  evolution as selecting for, 415

  humanism and, 395, 410

  impartiality and, 412–13, 415

  progress in, as cumulative, 327

  relativists vs. realists, 429–30

  and safety regulations, 190

  social contracts against harm, 27–8

  sympathy and, 415

  utilitarian, 415–19

  and violence, vulnerability to, 414–15

  See also theism and theistic morality

  moral sense

  abstract reasoning and honing of, 243

  deficits in, 26, 140

  root-causism and, 169–70

  sacrifice and, 140–41

  Morgenthau, Hans, 309

  Morrison, Philip, 308

  Morton, Oliver, 154

  Moss, Jonathan, 402

  Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 178

  motor vehicles

  accident deaths, 42, 176–8, 177

  deaths in, vs. terrorist deaths, 192, 193

  decline in demand for, 135

  drunk driving, 178

  robotic cars, 180

  safety, development of, 177–8, 190

  Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, 200

  Mozambique, escape from poverty of, 85, 86

  Mozgovoi, Aleksandr, 479n93

  Mueller, John, 205–6, 263, 305, 310–311, 313

  Mugabe, Robert, 91

  Mukherjee, Bharati, 284

  Muller, Richard, 313

  multiethnic communities, 405, 448, 450

  multiverse theory, 424–5

  Munroe, Randall, 127, 128, 430, 489n52

  music, 260, 407

  Musk, Elon, 296

  Muslim countries

  atheists in, 435

  cohorts, 442, 491n106

  cruel punishments in, 439, 440

  emancipative values weakest in, 223, 227–8, 227, 240, 439, 442

 

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