Frankly, I'll probably never get around to reading this, because I'm one of the converted.My only qualm here is that human nature itself is fundamentally conflicted between cooperating with others (i.e., collectivism) and trying out-compete everyone else (referred to as "defecting" in game theory, sometimes termed "competing" in casual use, but more like free-riding or parasitism). I suspect that aspect will slow down the final stages of "the moral arc" from decades to thousands of years.But, an...

In The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom, Michael Shermer sets forth a view of human history that is reflective of the Enlightenment faith in science, progress, and what in the United States is called economic and political libertarianism. The subtitle of the book refers to both "Science" and "Reason." Shermer does not discuss thematically whether reason is simply equivalent to the experimental method of modern science, but he sometimes appears to...

While I enjoyed so much reading this book,I don't think I'm on right position to give a good review simply because the author confessed that he was inspired mainly by Steven Pinker and Steven Pinker himself,endorsed this book as a sequel to his critical acclaimed masterpiece Better Angel of our time which I haven't read it yet,and throughout reading this book I had this weird feeling that I missing something since I didn't read the original work...But my personal weird feelings aside,This is a v...

If I could give a 3.5 rating, I would have for this book. This book had a lot of potential considering it was pulling off of two great books; The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker and The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris. However, I don't think it really delivered all too well. Pieces of Shermer's case were very well done, while others were pretty weak in my opinion. Especially the portions on economics. If you came away not realizing that he is a libertarian, I'll wonder if you even rea...

Part Steven Pinker’s “The Better Angels of Our Nature”, part Matt Ridley’s “The Rational Optimist”. Part new-atheism, part pop-libertarianism. I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with every single point being made and not fully enjoying it because each of these points has been professed elsewhere, more thoroughly, more originally, and often more, if I may be so crass, poetically. Everything here is stated plainly. And that is great, to a point. Everything said serves its purpose. But n...

The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom by Michael Shermer“The Moral Arc” makes the compelling case that the world is progressing morally and that most of this development is a result of secular forces. Best-selling author and well-known skeptic Michael Shermer takes a scientific approach to his thesis, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This provocative 560-page book includes twelve chapters and is broken in the f...

I really enjoyed "Why People Believe Weird Things," so I thought this book would be great. Shermer's Introduction was absolutely wonderful, and included one of my favorite paragraphs ever. I've re-read it so much, and so want it to be true, that I'll post it here: "Improvements in the domain of morality are evident in many areas of life: governance (the rise of liberal democracies and the decline of theocracies and autocracies); economics (broader property rights and the freedom to trade goods a...

It's impossible to take this book seriously. For me, it's Alain de botton all over again -- the guy talks a lot, but doesn't demonstrate any understanding of the issues at play at all. The only thing worth reading in this book are the ocassionally relevant quotes, as well as the interesting facts and figures. But that is better gleaned elsewhere, unless one has a very sturdy forehead, which one would be smacking/banging a lot reading the ridiculously crude explanations he provides. Tell me again...

Sloppy, sloppy and sloppy.At first, I thought I would really like this book. It deals with a topic that interests me: the moral development of human beings. And its premise is very optimistic: that human behavior, and perhaps human nature itself, have slowly been changing for the better.But, in the early chapters, which I enjoyed, I started to notice that there was a lot of leaping to the conclusion that correlation = causation, and it seemed like the author was picking and choosing time frames

A nice intro to the basics of moral thought and how the Enlightenment, science, and reason have led to a more moral world. The author examines 4 specific moral issues that have plagued civilization (focusing more on how we have treated them in Western culture): slavery, women's rights, gay rights, and animal rights. Through each of these moral issues the author argues several key points. 1) Morality tends to occur on a continuum and shouldn't be treated as dichotomous. 2) Antiquated societies ac...

There are three sections of this book. The first section explains what the moral arc is, how 'morality' has arced towards justice since the enlightenment, and how this is due to the influence of science and reason rather than religion, which has fought moral progress at every stage.The second section, is probably the most interesting however, and the most persuasive. I was, by the time I got to the last chapter in the section, quite moved, and think that this section of the book deserves some di...

I'll read just about anything Michael Shermer writes. He's a gift to this world and is so well-versed on a variety of topics. I found him while reading books on skepticism, and as a fan of moral philosophy, I was extremely excited to discover this book. This book is pretty long, but it's worth the read. Shermer covers every nook and cranny of morality from various angles and does a great job making you question your own opinions about morality, justice, and how we live with one another.

Oh good grief.I didn't know much about Michael Shermer except that he likes to make fun of people who believe things he doesn't. Apparently he wrote an actual good book on that once, and maybe I should have read that instead. But the word "Justice" in the title caught my eye, and so I decided to see what he had to say.Friends, do not read this book.He seems to think that People of Color and women of all races have it better now than at any time in history (in the case of many PoC, demonstrably n...

A great argument in favor of civil rights and human progress based in science rather than superstition. Instead of the Ten Commandments, Shermer proposes a Provisional Rational Decalogue, which to this modern thinker makes perfect sense. We have come a long, long way over the centuries indeed. Ending slavery, boosting the rights of women, boosting the rights of gay people, and improving our treatment of animals -- all are covered exceptionally well.I feel like a better person after reading this

Michael Shermer, professional skeptic, has written a very ambitious book. In The Moral Arc he proposes to take up where Steven Pinker left off in his The Better Angels of Our Nature. Pinker's book sets out to show that we are living in the least violent times in history and that this is due to our increased intelligence over time.Shermer, while acknowledging Pinker's book, doesn't really cover any new ground. In fact, his arguments draw heavily on pop culture references, almost as if he doesn't

OK, I have a credibility problem. I think. You see, I agree with Michael Shermer about almost everything: ethics, science, religion, politics, economics. Can I be trusted to review this book fairly? (This, by the way, is the sort of question that being a skeptic allows me to ask in all humility.) Well, let's see... oh, I know! How about I start with pointing out the negatives! That way I can prove that I am not biased beyond repair. Mm, okay, let's see... Can I do it?Actually, finding faults is

Shermer argues for the forward progress of moral thinking throughout history. This "moral arc" bends, he says, towards truth, justice, and freedom. He makes a good case from sociological evidence of humans past and present.He follows this arc to its logical conclusion which is, in his opinion, inclusion of consideration for non-human animals. He gets a little extreme at times, granting lab rats and livestock equal status as "sentient beings". He recites with surprising lack of skepticism myths a...

This was an interesting read/listen. Shermer presents a number of arguments to show and explain the apparent correlation between the advance of science and the advance of our moral sensibilities. Having considered Shermer's arguments I am still not fully convinced that it is the rise of science and reason that is informing and driving the moral insights of society and is the prime mover of 'bending the moral arc' as Shermer calls it. We have had science and scientific progress in any number of s...

This book is very thought-provoking. Although I do not agree with everything the author said, I found many of his arguments persuasive. He often cited the literature to back up the arguments he made which I appreciate. In many ways I did not like this book, not because it was poorly written or poorly researched (because it was well-written and well-researched), but because it forced me to rethink some of the things I believe and to think about topics that quite frankly I would rather not think a...

The Moral Arc by Michael Shermer is one of the best and most thorough defenses of secular morality I’ve read. The research is extensive and the arguments are persuasive, revealing humanity’s true drivers of moral progress.First, Shermer presents the idea that many, if not most, historical instances of immorality were the result of factual errors. Human sacrifices, the burning of witches, withholding medication in favor of prayer, as a few examples, were all instances of serious misunderstandings...