Bibliograph

Do humankind's best days lie ahead?, Pinker and Ridley vs. De Botton and Gladwell : the munk debates, edited by Rudyard Griffiths

Type

Label

Do humankind's best days lie ahead?, Pinker and Ridley vs. De Botton and Gladwell : the munk debates, edited by Rudyard Griffiths

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Do humankind's best days lie ahead?

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

945106511

Responsibility statement

edited by Rudyard Griffiths

Series statement

The Munk debates

Sub title

Pinker and Ridley vs. De Botton and Gladwell : the munk debates

Summary

"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 best-selling author Matt Ridley squared off against noted philosopher Alain de Botton and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell to debate whether humankind's best days lie ahead,"--Amazon.com

Table Of Contents

Do Humankind's Best Days Lie Ahead? -- Pre-Debate Interviews with Rudyard Griffiths -- Post-Debate Commentary

Target audience

adult

Classification