The great thinkers of the Enlightenment had grandiose dreams for the progress of human civilization. They envisioned a world in which all men were created equal, reason triumphed over superstition, and human beings in all their natural variability were free to pursue their own pursuits.

Are we there yet?

That forms only part of the question astrophysicist and former NASA staff scientist Stuart Jordan seeks to answer in The Enlightenment Vision: Science, Reason, and the Promise of a Better Future (Prometheus Books, 2013).

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Today marks the release of philosopher AC Grayling‘s latest book The God Argument: The Case against Religion and for Humanism: Grayling is also the author of The Good Book: A Humanist Bible. He’ll be one of the keynote speakers at the American Atheists convention in Austin, Texas this weekend.