The Enlightenment: is the promise of progress over? | Pinker, Neiman, Mearsheimer, and many more
273Once considered the pinnacle of human intellectual achievement, the Enlightenment has come under heavy scrutiny in recent times. No longer the sacrosanct bastion of ideas and progress, its impact on global culture, politics, and philosophy is now seen as questionable, with many arguing that it has done far more harm than good in the world.
So, standing here in the 21st Century, hundreds of years on from the Enlightenment, the question becomes: is the promise of progress over?
#enlightenment #history #democracy #politics #philosophy #revolution #reasoning #rational #capitalism #liberty #protest #religion
Debates and talks featured (available on iai.tv with a free trial):
Remaking the left (2023)
https://iai.tv/video/remaking-the-left-susan-neiman?utm_source=YouTube
The Enlightenment and its alternatives (2023)
https://iai.tv/video/the-enlightenment-and-its-alternatives-steven-pinker-john-mearsheimer?utm_source=YouTube
After the end of history (2025)
https://iai.tv/video/francis-fukuyama-on-why-he-was-surprised-by-trumps-foreign-policy?utm_source=YouTube
The New Enlightenment (2018)
https://iai.tv/video/the-new-enlightenment?utm_source=YouTube
The myth of universal values (2024)
https://iai.tv/video/the-myth-of-universal-values-tommy-curry?utm_source=YouTube
The spectre of the Enlightenment (2023)
https://iai.tv/video/the-spectre-of-the-enlightenment?utm_source=YouTube
Peril and progress (2024)
https://iai.tv/video/peril-and-progress?utm_source=YouTube
Tears of the West (2024)
https://iai.tv/video/the-tears-of-the-west?utm_source=YouTube
00:00 Introduction
01:19 CHAPTER ONE: Is it time to move on from the Enlightenment?
01:23 Susan Neiman: the Left must rethink its values
05:10 Steven Pinker and John Mearsheimer: The problems with reason and rationality
09:25 Francis Fukuyama: The decline of democracy in the modern era
12:47 Julian Baggini and Hilary Lawson: What should replace the Enlightenment and the dream of objective knowledge?
17:14 CHAPTER TWO: Revising the Enlightenment in the 21st Century
17:21 Tommy Curry: Enlightenment ideals have been used to justify colonialism and to counter modern social justice movements
20:20 Aviva Chomsky: The crucial historical and geographical context of the Enlightenment
23:39 CHAPTER THREE: The progress myth
23:45 Camila Vergara, Guy Standing, and Nadhim Zahawi: Is progress merely an ideology?
27:54 Rory Sutherland, Arlie Hochschild, and Angus Deaton: What are we proud of and what are we ashamed of?
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