The main message of the book is that it is possible to find meaning, purpose, and hope in life by following a principled approach
that relies on evidence and reason rather than faith or dogma.
Now, we all know that many have tried to accomplish this admittedly audacious task in the past, and the results haven't been great.
So it is perfectly reasonable to be skeptical and ask what's different this time.
Three crucial factors make our current moment different:
- New scientific insights or tools that were unavailable even a century ago
- New paradigms or ways of thinking about complex, fuzzy, emergent phenomena
- A more humble, more realistic attitude due to having learned from the the failures of the past
We have made great strides in all of these areas just in the last few decades, enabling us to make a far stronger attempt at tackling this problem.
Allow me to show you how.