I'm sure this question has been asked and successfully answered by many but, if Reason, like everything else from kangaroos to the human appendix, has been created by material forces, why should it be trusted?
A Pick-Me-Up
In Steven Johnson's TED talk, he postulates a unique explanation of the Enlightenment and the English contribution to the innovation revolution. Because the water was so dangerous, people were prone to drinking alcohol, beer during the day, and wine or gin later. He thinks that most of the island was slightly impaired all the time and the appearance of the coffee house, where the water was heated for the preparation of coffee and tea, substituted a stimulant for the alcohol depressant and "stimulated" the innovation of the Enlightenment.
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