ABSTRACT
The stagnation and misery of the remaining non-scientific and antiscientific views stand out in sharp relief against the backdrop of progress in science. Religious, occult, and other paranormal beliefs and superstitions display unenlightened conservatism; their proponents appeal to human weaknesses, ignorance, and fear of social upheavals and the unknown; they exploit the latest achievements of humankind in order to modernize the appearance of their pseudoscientific and archaic doctrines and practices. 2
Changes for the better have occurred on the international scene:
• Practically all colonial empires have collapsed. • The threat of totalitarianism has considerably decreased. • Many countries in the world have adopted (at least on paper) The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. • The ideas of democracy and freedom are gaining ground in Eastern
Europe, post-Soviet countries, Latin America, and Africa. • Human rights, particularly for women, ethnic and other minorities, are
• Countries with high living standards are successfully solving the problem of population growth; in many countries, it is due not to a higher birth rate but to lower mortality and a longer life span.
