Steven Pinker’s new book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress is a beacon of hope in what I have been considering “dark times.” If you’ve been reading my blog awhile, you know that I haven’t been happy about Trump’s presidency. Pinker’s book has convinced me that there’s a lot more “ointment” than there is “fly.” Things in general will continue to get better in spite of Trump’s efforts to return us to the “dark ages.” Progress is not guaranteed, of course, but the long-term trend of history is increasing well-being for humans based on advances in reason and science.
An old saying, can’t see the forest for the trees, applies: If we focus on the problems and disappointments many of us see in the Trump presidency, we can’t see the gains we—the people not only in the States but of the world as well—are making. Pinker does not ignore the problems many of us have with the Trump Presidency, but he asks us to focus on the “big picture.” We have made, and will continue to make, progress regardless of Trump.
Stevie Wonder tells us why:
When you view where we are now from the perspective of history, it is pretty easy to see that where we are now is better than where humanity has been for most of our collective history. Of course, where you are now is an important influencing factor as well. Even if you were to stay in the same location where you are now, you wouldn’t have to go too far back in time for life to be radically different. When I was in Vietnam (about 50 years ago at this point) I saw that some of the Vietnamese had built entire houses out of the beer cans the U.S. soldiers had discarded. Things have changed, both there and here. A long time ago, Morris Massey discussed the way values are created and maintained. He identified three stages:
- The Imprint Period. Up to the age of seven, we absorbing everything around us and accept much of it as true, especially when it comes from our parents. The confusion and blind belief of this period can also lead to the early formation of trauma and other deep problems. The critical thing at this stage is to learn a sense of right and wrong, good and bad. These are human constructions that we often assume would exist even if we were not here.
- The Modeling Period. Between the ages of eight and thirteen, we copy people, often our parents, but also other people. (My generation modeled James Dean and Marlon Brando) Rather than blind acceptance, we are trying on behaviors to see how they feel. We may be much impressed with religion or our teachers. You may remember being particularly influenced by younger school teachers who seemed knowledgeable.
- The Socialization Period. Between 13 and 21, we are primarily influenced by our peers. As we develop as individuals and look for ways to escape the earlier programming, we turn to people whom we think more like us. Other influences at these ages include the media, especially those parts which seem to resonate with the values of our peer groups.
My sense is that everyone goes through this basic developmental process regardless of culture, which is one of the reasons cultural differences are difficult to overcome. Basically, we can only know what we’ve been exposed to, and we can only accept what seems reasonable based on what we already know, and that varies from culture to culture. We have gone through history trying to “convert” other cultures to our way of thinking, fighting what Jonathan Swift called the war between the Big Enders and Little Enders based on which end of a soft-boiled to open. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that long ago that Protestants and Catholics fought bitterly over which version of Christianity was correct.
Muslim countries have also had their share of internecine war. Buddhism, too, while theoretically pacifist, has not always been free of war and aggression. Our cousins, chimpanzees and gorillas have also displayed human-like aggression. Neither the chimpanzees nor the gorillas say that religion was responsible for their conflicts, so with humans we have to wonder whether our conflicts are “natural” or whether differences in belief systems are the causes of our aggressive tendencies.
Given the history of humanity, it is easy (and tempting) to conclude, that the way things have been is the way things will always be. In Enlightenment Now, Pinker makes clear that we are simply too close to the trees to see the forest. Over time, the human species has been becoming increasingly rational and peaceful.
I would be remiss if I ended this blog without mentioning the people who were major influencers of my pacifist tendencies, Nelson and Marian Fusion. They exemplified living in peace. It would, I think, be really wonderful if we could realize the dream of “enlightenment now.” Perhaps we can bring it about by imagining it.
