Today’s Post

Last week we took a summary look at the statistical data on human progress as a measure of human evolution from Johan Norberg’s book, ‘Progress’, in which we outlined the ways in which evolution can be seen to continue its fourteen billion rise through the human species.  We also noted that in spite of the sheer volume of data that Norberg provides which shows evolution rising through humanity in the form of increasing human welfare (which is the main contributor to survival of the species), ‘conventional wisdom’ as catalogued by many contemporary polls, shows that nearly all those responding to polls are either unaware of this data or disagree with it.  Steven Pinker in his book, “Enlightenment Now”, sees this as a sort of ‘progressophobia’, particularly strong in the West, that either ignores data such as that provided by Norbert, or rejects it outright.

This week we will take a closer look at this phenomenon.

A Quick Look At The History of Pessimism

Such ‘progressophobia’ isn’t a recent phenomenon. For example, pessimists have always been able to find a basis for their negativity in their sacred books.  Based on such readings, it’s not surprising that the founders of the great Sixteenth century Protestant Reformation had a very negative opinion of human nature.  Martin Luther, whose Protestant worldview took root in Europe following the Reformation, saw humans as “piles of manure, covered over by Christ”.  Calvin went him one better, seeing them as “total depravity”.  Freud piled on with his warnings against the core of the human person:  the “dangerous Id”.

The thinkers of the Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and early18th centuries, on the other hand, emphasized reason and individualism rather than tradition.  Such beliefs were in distinct contrast to those of the Reformation, as can be seen in the writings of such as Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Heidegger and Sarte.

With the Reformation, the basic positive message of Jesus became secondary to the need to understand the human race as in need of a future divine intervention (the ‘second coming’) in which humans would be protected from their ‘fallen’ nature directly by God.

Such recoil against the Enlightenment’s positive perception of human nature was only reinforced as Science began to see the human as an evolutionary phenomenon, progressing into the future without the need for divine intervention.

There seems to have been much profit in such predictions of future doom.   For example, with the death of the popular American evangelist, Billy Graham, his children have continued to benefit financially from prophesies of ever-increasing doom, showing clearly that ‘pessimism sells’ even to this day.

Such pessimism can also be seen today in results of polls such as those cited in the last two posts.  Even actual, tangible and supportable statistics, such as those showing a considerable plummet in the rate of violent crime, still leaves the majority of Americans to see their country “heading in the wrong direction”.  Canny populist politicians are quick to capitalize on such pessimism, and are very successful at getting elected on platforms in which such an obviously depraved human condition must be closely controlled by strong men (and it’s always a man) such as themselves.

Progressiphobia In Western Society

Pinker notes that when Westerners are polled about their opinion of progress in society, a twofold perspective can be seen.  On an individual basis, persons seem to be optimistic about their personal situation, and that of their immediate relationships (family, neighbors, friends), but pessimistic about society at large.  Pinker refers to this as the “Optimism Gap”:

“For two decades…when Europeans were asked by pollsters whether their own economic situation would get better or worse in the coming year, more of them said it would get better, but when they were asked about their country’s economic situation, more of them said it would get worse.”

This is a puzzling phenomenon: comfortable, secure, educated individuals unable to project their personal optimism onto their society.   Why should this be so?

The Next Post

This week we took a first look at the history of pessimism about human progress, through the eyes of Steven Pinker in his book, “Enlightenment Now”.

This week we looked at how such an optimistic perception of the human capacity for continued evolution  as detailed by Johan Norberg is not shared by a large majority of those in the West that have benefited from it the most.  Why should this be true?

Next week we will take a look a few reasons for such ‘progressiphobia’.