October 29, 2018
Despite the headlines, news reports … What IF the world’s actually getting better?
Steven Pinker’s lecture will apply Enlightenment ideals and optimism to illustrate that the world is on the path to securing a better future for humanity. (Stock image)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In the face of political and social upheaval, constant negative headlines and global threats, a common question that has emerged is, “is the world getting worse?”
It must be, right?
Not necessarily. Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University and author of “How the Mind Works” and “The Blank Slate,” will address this question in his lecture “What IF the world’s actually getting better?”
The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 30) in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse.
Steven Pinker
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The event is a part of Purdue’s Ideas Festival, the centerpiece of Purdue’s Giant Leaps Sesquicentennial Campaign, which is a series of events that connect world-renowned speakers and Purdue expertise in a conversation on the most critical problems facing the world. One of the Ideas Festival’s themes is health, longevity and quality of life.
Pinker’s lecture will apply Enlightenment ideals and optimism to illustrate that the world is on the path to securing a better future for humanity. His analysis of recent data on homicide, war and poverty offers more optimism than people might think. Pinker looks at how progress is shaped by problem-solving, and by reframing one’s perspective to focus on problem solving could help climate change and threats of nuclear war. From his 2018 TEDTalk.
"We will never have a perfect world, and it would be dangerous to seek one," he says. "But there's no limit to the betterments we can attain if we continue to apply knowledge to enhance human flourishing.”
A highly respected scientist and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, Pinker uses scientific reasoning to debunk the assumption that the world is getting worse. He argues that peace, prosperity, knowledge and happiness are all the rise, and contrary to popular belief, the world is actually getting better.
Writer: Jaclyn Lawmaster, 574-301-9049, jlawmast@purdue.edu
Media Contact: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Audio and/or video recording will not be permitted at the event.
