T. S. Eliot Estate and Abbey Theatre Partner for The T.S. Eliot Lecture 2018

The T.S. Eliot Estate and The Abbey Theatre announce the third of five annual lectures in T.S. Eliot's name and in memory of his impact on modern letters.

The 2018 lecture will be delivered by Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading authorities on language and the mind and Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard Unviersity. Previously, he taught at Stanford and at MIT.

STEVEN PINKER asks the big questions about human progress-and sets out, in public, to answer them. In optimistic public lectures, full of sharp wit, common sense, and dazzling argumentation, Pinker makes the case for reason, science, and humanism. These Enlightenment ideals, in the face of tribalism, authoritarianism, and other modern dangers to democracy, are worth celebrating-and protecting.

A provocative speaker, much in demand, Steven Pinker is a cognitive scientist who has been named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. His lectures have helped millions demystify the science behind human language, thought, and action. Pinker is a Harvard professor, a TED speaker, and a bestselling author, twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Highly respected in the scientific community, his work and opinions are extensively covered in the mainstream media, and have won a wide general audience.

In his new book - Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress-Pinker argues that, despite fear-mongering and political upheaval, the world is getting better: peace, prosperity, knowledge and happiness are on the rise. "The world is getting better, even if it doesn't always feel that way," writes Bill Gates, in a review of the book. "I'm glad we have brilliant thinkers like Steven Pinker to help us see the big picture. Enlightenment Now is not only the best book Pinker's ever written. It's my new favourite book of all time."

Enlightenment Now is the follow-up to The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Had Declined, which was a #1 Amazon bestseller. Lectures based on that book inspired audiences worldwide with its core message that, if you look at the facts, we are living in the most peaceful human era ever. The talks pointed the way to a better future for humankind.

Pinker's other bestselling books include The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature ("Required reading." - Los Angeles Times) and How The Mind Works ("A model of scientific writing: erudite, witty, and clear." - New York Review of Books). Pinker's acclaimed "language" series includes The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language, Words and Rules, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, as well as The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century.

A native of Montreal, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has won a number of teaching prizes, and his research on visual cognition and the psychology of language has received numerous awards, including the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences.

Writer Carlo Gébler will introduce Professor Pinker, followed by an interview with novelist and journalist Will Self. Actor Eleanor Methven will also perform 'The Hollow Men,' one of T.S. Eliot's best-known poems.

Tickets go on sale today 28th September 2018.

www.abbeytheatre.ie

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