The New Primitivism: Today’s Attacks on Reason and Individualism by Peter Schwartz   The stagnant oppressiveness of the medieval era was replaced by a new era upholding a new philosophy: the efficacy of reason and the value of the individual. The new culture rejected the primitive mentality that had cowered before the forces of nature and that had obediently followed the dictates of mystical authorities. The new culture, leading to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, recognized man—rational man—as capable of limitless achievements. Today, however, the medieval mentality is being resurrected. In the tribalism of multiculturalism, in the anti-science and anti-technology ideology of environmentalism, in the overt mysticism of religion—we are now witnessing a return of primitivism.   In this talk, Peter Schwartz examines the roots of this tragic phenomenon and presents the case for a philosophy of reason, science, progress and capitalism.