Steven Pinker and David Runciman on Optimism, Enlightenment and Progress PART 1

Intelligence Squared

News, News Commentary, Arts, Society & Culture

4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2023

⏱️ 23 minutes

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Summary

For this edition, Intelligence Squared revisits a compelling discussion from 2019 with one of the world's foremost cognitive psychologists, Steven Pinker, whose work often focuses on language, the mind, and human nature. He was joined in conversation by David Runciman, the academic and podcaster who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University, to discuss the themes of Pinker’s book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. This is the first half of a two-part conversation. Join us for part two in the following episode. We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be. Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2. And if you’d like to support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations, as well as ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content, early access and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today. Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this is Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of BBC News and I'm here because I want
0:05.1	to talk to you about an event I'm doing with Intelligent Squared on the 2nd of November in London
0:11.5	and I'm going to be talking about the more than 30 years that I've spent reporting on major
0:17.6	events in the Middle East with my great friend and colleague over many, many years just in web
0:25.6	and I'm sure we'll talk about a few other things as well just in and I started at the BBC
0:31.5	on the same day in 1984. So if you'd like to join us either in person or online then visit
0:41.6	IntelligentSquared.com to find out more. Welcome to Intelligent Squared. I'm senior producer Connor
0:49.9	Boyle. Today we're revisiting a discussion with one of the world's foremost cognitive
0:54.0	psychologists Stephen Pinker. Pinkers work often focuses on language and human nature and how
0:59.4	they contribute to society as a whole. Joining Pinker in conversation is David Ronsman, the academic
1:05.1	and podcaster who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University. The two discuss the advances
1:10.8	made in our societies over the last several hundred years and whether optimism makes sense in
1:16.0	today's turbulent times. We're listening to part one of the conversation today and join us for
1:20.5	part two in the following episode and to hear the episode ad-free and support our mission to foster
1:25.2	honest debate and compelling conversations head over to IntelligentSquared.com slash membership
1:30.5	or subscribe to our channel on Apple. Let's join David Ronsman in conversation with Stephen Pinker.
1:36.0	Hello I'm David Ronsman maybe to start with something that cuts across a lot of debates
1:40.8	at the moment and it's something that I'm increasingly struck by. There seems to be a new
1:45.2	division people are asked to pick sides in a world where we're always being asked to pick sides
1:50.4	between optimism and pessimism. You're either going to be one of the optimists or if you're not
1:54.4	you're one of the pessimists. So you use the language of optimism and pessimism in the book occasionally
1:59.9	occasionally but you also have a bit where you you are wary of it. Why is that become the choice?
	...

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