So What Does It All Mean? Av S. S. O'Connor

The final in the four-part series shows what the theories, research and science all add up to. It examines the evidence that illustrates how wrong most people in thinking the world is descending into darkness and chaos, and shows instead that it's actually improving at an astonishing rate.

The Secrets of Life series is written for everyone who, frankly, needs a spot of cheering up, and will provide conversation starters for years after reading! O'Connor's easy-going, conversational style brings an outsider's questioning eye to the great forces behind life. The final in the four-part series shows what the theories, research and science all add up to. It examines the evidence that illustrates how wrong most people in thinking the world is descending into darkness and chaos, and shows instead that it's actually improving at an astonishing rate.This explains, the author says, why in spite of the constant challenges our world faces, the human race is actually improving by the day, rather than becoming worse. Book Four points out that many people say that humans are the ultimate triumph for the selfish gene, yet we've now developed to the point where we can choose to overrule so many of its instructions. As the facts about the world's population, its life expectancies, birth rates, poverty, food security, violence, natural disasters, energy, climate and all the other major indicators are laid out in So What Does It All Mean?, it becomes ever clearer that the resultsofourevolutionshouldgiveusreasonsforoptimism,notdespair.The Secrets of Life series concludes by showing us why we are often wrong in ourviewofeachother,whywe'rebecomingeverhappierandmoremoral,andwhy we're so frequently mistaken in our views about the future. Yes, it concludes, life does have a meaning, it does have an arc of evolution, non- zero cooperation is what makes things win... and that includes us humans.Example questions posed (and answered) in Book 4 -So What Does It All Mean?What are the problems that arise from our free will?Why are we capable of so much selfishness and cynicism - and yet also such sympathy, empathy, compassion, and sacrifice?How have we come to realise that self-interest is quite different from selfishness?Why have we become so driven by the need for fairness and trust in our societies - and how can less control over a society lead to people behaving better?What's the problem that life is solving?Are we becoming happier?Is violence reducing or increasing?