In this book, Steven Pinker presents a detailed argument that violence has significantly decreased over the course of human history. He uses extensive data and statistical analysis to demonstrate this decline in various domains, including military conflict, homicide, genocide, torture, and the treatment of children, homosexuals, animals, and racial and ethnic minorities. Pinker identifies four key human motivations – empathy, self-control, the moral sense, and reason – as the 'better angels' that have oriented humans away from violence and towards cooperation and altruism. He also discusses historical forces such as the rise of the state (which he terms 'Leviathan'), the spread of commerce, the growth of feminist values, and the expansion of cosmopolitanism, which have contributed to this decline in violence[1][4][5].
Freakonomics is a collaboration between economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner that delves into the riddles of everyday life, from cheating and crime to parenting and sports. The book argues that economics is fundamentally the study of incentives and how people get what they want or need, especially when others want or need the same thing. It covers various topics such as the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, and the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, using forceful storytelling and wry insight to challenge conventional wisdom.
In this revolutionary, richly illustrated book, Richard Dawkins demonstrates how the body, behavior, and genes of every living creature can be read as a book—an archive of the worlds of its ancestors. Dawkins explains that in the future, a zoologist will be able to decode the ancestral history of any unknown animal, reading its unique 'book of the dead'. This approach is already revealing the remarkable ways animals overcome obstacles, adapt to their environments, and develop similar solutions to life’s problems.
In 'Enlightenment Now', Steven Pinker presents a comprehensive argument that the values of the Enlightenment—reason, science, and humanism—have been instrumental in the progress of human society. He challenges the prevailing pessimism in modern discourse by presenting empirical evidence that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise globally. Pinker uses data and graphs to illustrate improvements in various aspects of human life, such as increased life expectancy, reduced child and maternal mortality, and advancements in medicine and technology. He also addresses the psychological biases that lead people to underestimate these improvements and emphasizes the importance of continuing to uphold Enlightenment ideals to ensure further progress.
In 'The Selfish Gene', Richard Dawkins presents a gene-centred view of evolution, arguing that genes are the primary units of selection and that they behave selfishly to ensure their own replication. The book explains concepts such as kin selection, inclusive fitness, and the evolutionarily stable strategy, highlighting how these mechanisms can lead to altruistic behaviors in organisms. Dawkins emphasizes that the 'selfishness' of genes is a metaphorical concept, describing their evolutionary consequences rather than any intentional behavior. The book has been influential in shaping modern evolutionary thought and remains relevant today[1][3][5].
In this episode of The Poetry of Reality, Richard Dawkins joins Peter Boghossian for a compelling conversation about Richard's latest book, The Genetic Book of the Dead along with a wide array of topics including evolution, genetics, science, and the broader cultural forces that shape our understanding of truth.
This episode was filmed as part of Richard Dawkins' tour.
Peter Boghossian is an American philosopher, author, and educator best known for his work on critical thinking, atheism, and free speech.
The Poetry of Reality with Richard Dawkins 
