Harvard’s Steven Pinker is one of the best known cognitive psychologists in the world today, with bestsellers such as Blank Slate (2002) and Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress (2018). His current bestseller is When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows (2025).

Naturally, such authors are asked to do speaking tours and one destination was Down Under. There he was initially sponsored by the Humanist Society of Australia. That would be no surprise; in the United States, he was named Humanist of the Year in 2006. At TheHumanist.com, his 2018 book was hailed as “Enlightenment Wow.”

To a broader public, his materialist approach to the human mind and human psychology has seemed inevitable and inescapable. And it certainly sold well. Variety Australia ballyhooed “He has shaped global conversations on language, thought, human nature and progress. Named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2004, he has enjoyed endorsements from leaders including Barack Obama and Bill Gates.”

What could go wrong?

Times do change…

Darwinian evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne reported on Tuesday at his blog Why Evolution Is True,

Yesterday I got an email from Desh Amila, a producer, educator, and entrepreneur, one of whose activities is arranging public appearances of famous humanists or nonbelievers. As such, he was setting up Steve Pinker’s tour in Australia to promote his recent book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows. . . : Common knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. Here is part of Amila’s email, which I reproduce with permission: “The Humanist Society of Australia withdraws support from Steve Pinker’s book tour,” September 30, 3035

In the e-mail, Amila reports that the Australian Humanists have backed out of the book tour:

We recently had the Humanist Society of Australia officially withdraw its partnership and support for the tour. After several days of internal debate, their CEO informed us that they were unable to reach “consensus” on how to handle Professor Pinker’s public support for your article, “Biology is not Bigotry.” “Steve Pinker’s book tour”

Apparently, the “Rainbow Atheists” group within their fellowship had complained.

Times change but not spontaneously… they change for reasons

Readers may recall an uproar at the Freedom from Religion Foundation late last year. Briefly, lawyer Kat Grant, posted a piece called What is a woman? (November 7, 2024), asserting that “A woman is whoever she says she is,” essentially a defense of the concept of a “transwoman.”

Coyne, an evolutionary biologist, was given permission to respond with “Biology is not bigotry” (December 26, 2024), defending the sex binary nature of human beings. His post was not polemical; mostly, it was a plea not to succumb to “mission creep.” However, it was deemed insensitive and taken down. Posting it was even described as an “error in judgment.”

In response, Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker resigned from the Honorary Board, along with Coyne. FFRF then dissolved the entire Honorary Board.

Perhaps Pinker should have seen the writing on the wall earlier this year…?

Missing the big picture

Popular atheism has been good to people like Pinker and Dawkins. But the rise of private truth, at war with the public truth on which science depends, is destroying atheism’s brand. The really remarkable part, in this case, is that the war on biology that is essential to transgenderism isn’t even an atheist cause. But prominent atheists, who helped the movement grow, are now routinely ejected for defending biology.

It’s tempting for many to reflect that they won’t miss the atheists much. But if we leave it at that, we are missing the big picture. Private truth is taking dead aim at science itself, not just at those who co-opt it for an anti-religious purpose.

To see what I mean, have a look at this snippet from the life of Billboard Chris, a Canadian who campaigns against the promotion of transgenderism to minors:

If private truth continues to advance, we will see many more people with degrees in the life sciences spouting utter falsehoods about human biology in public places. With degrees, they will be in an even better position to persecute or attack those who insist on facts.

Private truth isn’t just coming for religious people or for atheists in science. It is coming for science overall. We can only put off a serious confrontation by allowing ourselves to lose the war. For war it is.