This well-reviewed book, acclaimed by Bill Gates as “the best book” that he’s ever read, makes a passionate argument that, by invoking “reason, science and humanism,” we can come together to do what’s necessary to help ourselves, those closest to us and everyone “flourish.”
His argument, in the end, rests on the belief that it is “natural” for humans to recognize that this way of life is right for themselves and for humanity.
He denounces religion and faith in God as not only implausible and wrong, based on all we know about science, but that its pursuit has resulted in such violence and harm to other people (e.g., religious wars) that it has to be thrown away.
He goes on to also identify fascism and nationalism as tribal cultures that wreak havoc on mankind. How true that has been. His book has a hard time coming to grips with the fact that countless members of the intellectual and academic elite have supported fascist and extreme nationalist leaders like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin.
I believe Pinker’s underlying assumption of the “goodness of human nature” is too positive. If only he were right. There are instincts in every one of us that seek to lift ourselves up by comparing ourselves to some “others” whom we diminish for our own benefit. This instinct will never go away.
It is Pinker’s attack on religion—on having a faith in God—that hits me most deeply. For he’s right in saying that our knowledge of how the universe has evolved, and our knowledge of the role of evolution and science does not leave space for certain knowledge that there is an originating God. Particularly problematic is the belief which I’ve carried to a greater or lesser degree over time that God is playing a personal role in my life. I’ve always worried that this is presumptuous. I still do today.
Still, I have no doubt that, in my own life and countless others, the belief that there is a God that wills kindness over meanness, beauty over ugliness and that the words of Jesus carry meaning and power enables us to better live the humanistic values which Pinker advocates than we would if it were not for our belief in God and those teachings of Jesus.
Yes, terrible crimes have been carried out in the name of religion: Christian, Muslim and others. But that does not negate the fact that religious beliefs which celebrate the dignity of every single person have been a force for good on the part of countless individuals and collections of individuals. For me, while there are other paths to broaden the practice of humanistic values, I do not see one that negates the contribution of religion and a faith in God.
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