Why the World Isn’t Going to the Dogs
Philosopher of science Maarten Boudry does not shy away from controversy and his writings always prompt animated debates. Having concluded that we’ve never lived so long, so prosperously and so peacefully as today, in ‘Why the World Isn’t Going to the Dogs’ Boudry takes on those he calls doom-mongers and cultural pessimists. Some claim that we are on the brink of catastrophe, others maintain that modern society already lies in tatters. With rhetorical panache Boudry refutes visions of doom and gloom across the ideological spectrum. From catastrophism to visions of creeping islamization, from fears about rising inequality to ineradicable racism, Boudry not only provides an antidote to the deep despair that prevails today, but also explains its origins.
You don’t need to agree with all the arguments in this book for it to sharpen your mind, quite the reverse.Trouw
In pursuing his argument he always takes as his starting point the tried and tested values of science and Enlightenment. Because doom-mongering breeds fatalism and despair, whereas the story of human progress provides a call for action. The world has never been in a better shape than today, and Maarten Boudry is convinced that the best is yet to come, if only we put our minds to it.
Boudry is certainly no naive believer in progress, or blind to problems. But he does place those problems in a new, encouraging perspective that is almost always convincing.Financieel Dagblad
