This chapter and the following one share the common theme of “Education for the fostering and cultivation of superb individuals” and presents a different perspective on education, one in which the focus moves away from the traditional academic emphasis on information to an emphasis on the formation of well-rounded thinking individuals. The education of our children should focus on instilling in children high standards of reason, critical thinking skills, morals and ideals that lead to human perfection. The chapter also discusses what is currently wrong with our educational system, with its emphasis on information and specialization and offers ideas on things we need to do to build a stronger educational system. The last section of this chapter focuses on Knowledge, discussing what it is, why it matters, how to get it, how to use it and generally why it is so important to the advancement of society.

This chapter covers what it would take to turn students into thinking machines, that is, reflexive rational agents. The chapter focuses on what needs to be done to systematically teach and train our children on how to learn, how to think, how to better understand the natural and artificial worlds, how to build character, how to develop their memory and why that matters, and how to improve communication skills.

This chapter covers one of the key elements needed for the creation of a better world, namely, a system in which people are free to come up with ideas, and communicate and execute them. The chapter provides material on the importance of the sociocultural environment, the importance of imagination and how to let it loose, and argues for the creation of multiple outlets or fora for the circulation and exchange of ideas. It then covers culture, and things that need to be done in the areas of art, theatre, cinema and television as the premiere vehicles for communication in modern times. Part of this effort should be specifically aimed at establishing a strong scientific culture by promoting science at all levels, by protecting it from the assault from religious bigotry and by changing the popular perception of it and of scientists from “nerds” as a stigma to nerds as heroes. The discussion about promoting intellectuals would result in turning the best minds into celebrities as important as movie stars are today, and also incentivize lots of people to want to participate in the creative process.

This chapter makes a strong case against superstition in all its forms, including religion. A world in which people trust “holy” books more than science is a world that perpetuates obscurantism and will continue to have serious problems of all sorts, and will be a place in which progress will be hampered by fundamentalist beliefs unsupported by evidence. The chapter provides an account of the origins of superstition so that the reader understands where this comes from. This is followed by a discussion on the processes that lead people into believing in the supernatural, and also briefly covers issues related to two of the most popular religions in the world, Christianity and Islam. This in turn is followed by a discussion of the pernicious effects of religion in terms of the historical, moral, economic, political and social consequences it brings about. The following sections analyzes religion from a memetic point of view and discusses things freethinking people can do to help religious people shed their religions.

This chapter is one of two under the general theme of “Improved Government”. This chapter makes an analysis of various issues related to how we govern ourselves in the Western world, namely, in the democracies. The chapter takes a look at those aspects of democracy that for the sake of egalitarianism hamper the advancement of society as a whole. The chapter makes the suggestion that we should consider measuring the citizen’s competence to vote using various criteria and give more weight to the vote of the more capable people. The essence of this idea is that it is fundamentally important that political institutions embody, in their spirit, the recognition that some opinions are worth more than others. The last section of the chapter takes a deeper look at how our current system becomes a mediocracy. It examines how politicians operate and what motivates them, and also what happens to idealists and thinkers, as well as to the arts and the sciences in this environment. The section examines how the system puts people in a downward-spiral in which the tendency is for self-interest to prevail and be the principal driver for political action.

This chapter offers some ideas we could implement to improve the ways we govern ourselves. The centerpiece of the chapter argues that progress can not only be achieved but will also be put on a fast track when and if we become a meritocracy, that is, a system in which the most competent people rule. The section opens with a brief historical background of meritocracies, followed by a subsection on what constitutes a natural aristocracy. The next section explains what is the nature of merit or competence as the basis for the criteria of selection. Lastly, the chapter covers key things an enlightened government should do, followed by a discussion on some steps necessary to promote science, reason and freedom of thought. The next section covers culture, and steps the government must take to strongly promote education and instill the culture of culture.

This chapter is not meant to be a parenting guide, but rather it provides a few points of advice for parents. The chapter offers some ideas on things parents should and shouldn’t do, and advices them to invest more time and effort to promote and instill the concepts of enlightened self-interest and group effort on their children. This is meant to promote altruism and socioeconomic and intellectual advancement as a function of the benefits derived from unselfish cooperation towards a common goal. The following sections provide some advice on things parents should do during the education of their children, specifically in the areas of instilling and fomenting a sense of curiosity, in the types and quantities of toys they give them, in teaching them to get excited about important things such as achievements in the fields of arts and sciences (as opposed to focusing on trivial things), in avoiding sources of easy solutions, and in teaching them to be assertive.

This chapter makes the point that all men are not created equal, which means that beyond the obvious physical differences among people there are personality and intellectual differences among them that influence everything they do in life. The chapter discusses those differences, including looking at elements that form an individual’s personality, and discusses the spectrum of intellectual abilities and why the democratic push towards egalitarianism is correct in terms of rights but not correct in terms of the attempt to level the playing field by pretending everyone is the same as everyone else in terms of merit or innate or learned abilities.

This chapter examines some key elements that need to be present in order for a Renaissance or an Enlightenment to occur. The chapter opens with a section arguing we need to break with some elements of the past to forge a better future, and this leads to a discussion on learning from the greatness of the past as a jumping board to a discussion on what a new start would mean. The following section recaps the things that need to be in place that we covered earlier, such as education with an emphasis on thinking skills, an environment for the proliferation and communication of ideas, a reduction or elimination of superstition, better government and also the proposition that additionally we need to become better human beings, which will be covered in more detail in subsequent chapters. The chapter closes with a section examining a few current and potential future technological advances that may contribute to a new Renaissance.

This chapter examines things human beings have done and further things we can do to perfect ourselves. This is a key concept to support the premise of this book, as it would be pointless to improve the environment without improving us as well. The chapter begins with a discussion on progress from a human point of view, followed by a discussion on different modes of human perfection, including different ways in which we can perfect ourselves. This chapter also includes a discussion that offers goals for the wealthy in which I argue that wealthy individuals should become modern versions of the Renaissance patrons with a strong emphasis on science and education. The chapter ends with a section examining ways of becoming enlightened, with an emphasis on the concept of enlightened self-interest, describes conditions needed to become enlightened, gives reasons why it is important and lists benefits of becoming enlightened.

This chapter closes the book. It covers why it’s important the ideal person forges his own destiny, maintaining his ideals, individuality and drive towards a better future. It also argues that the ideal man needs to act altruistically towards the common good, in a way tying this with the concept introduced earlier in the discussion about enlightened self-interest. The last section of the chapter—which also wraps up the book—is a discussion about what it means to become a superb individual, which includes things like being enlightened, moral, altruistic, assertive, full of initiative, drive and ideals and, ultimately, embody the Renaissance ideal of “the universal man” harmoniously conjoining every variety of human perfection.