Steven pinker, author of the better angels of our nature, is the harvard college professor of psychology at harvard university. Oct 07, 2008 steven pinker s book the blank slate argues that all humans are born with some innate traits. In fact, i agreed with pinker on several key points. R enowned professor of psychology at harvard and a prolific writer, steven pinker is the author of several prizewinning books, including the language instinct, how the mind works, the blank slate. The modern denial of human nature ebook written by steven pinker. The blank slate, the noble savage, and the ghost in the machine steven pinker the tanner lectures on human values delivered at yale university april 20 and 21, 1999. Steven pinkers book the blank slate argues that all humans are born with some innate traits. Pinker begins by laying out what he takes as the central tenetsand obvious flawsof the blank slate theory as well as of its two most important corollaries, the noble savage and the ghost in the machine.
The blank slate is an intellectual landmark that shouldnt be missed. This 54page guide for the blank slate by, steven pinker includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 20 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Steven pinker, canadianborn american psychologist who advocated evolutionary explanations for the functions of the brain and thus for language and behavior. When the biologist randy thornhill and the anthropologist craig palmer published a natural history of rape in 2000, they threatened a consensus that had. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, pinker argues that the do. Why steven pinker gave up on anarchism a fistful of science. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 528 pages and is available in paperback format. The modern denial of human nature, published by viking. In the nonfiction book the blank slate, steven pinker, a harvardeducated experimental psychologist, draws from cuttingedge cognitive science to debunk popular ideas about the mind and human nature. The modern denial of human nature by steven pinker 434pp, allen lane. Oct, 2002 the blank slate naturally coexists with the ghost in the machine, too, since a slate that is blank is a hospitable place for a ghost to haunt. This socalled holy trinity, which arose out of the enlightenment, regards the newborn human being as a blank slate without inborn limitations or inequalities. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The modern denial of human nature paperback august 26, 2003. When law enforcement vanishes, all manner of violence breaks out. I also agreed that early critics of sociobiology were sometimes too extreme. Steven pinker presents an extremely eloquent, well reasoned, comprehensive and entertaining renunciation of the holy trinity of social science the blank slate, noble savage, and ghost in the machine. The blank slate, the author says, has become the secular religion of modern intellectual life. The blank slate, the noble savage, and the ghost in the. The modern denial of human nature by steven pinker other than the gender gap, the most combustible recent issue surrounding the sexes has been the nature and causes of rape.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Explore blank slate quotes by authors including brendon urie, steven pinker, and edgar wright at brainyquote. The modern denial of human nature kindle edition by pinker, steven. This was obvious in the remnants of yugoslavia, the soviet union, and parts of africa in the 1990s, but can also happen in countries with. The book was nominated for the 2003 aventis prizes and was a finalist for the pulitzer prize. The blank slate convinces us that we are born with different possibilities and that this should be understood and accepted. The modern denial of human nature is one of the more. His popular and highly praised books include the better angels of our nature, the sense of style, the stuff of thought, the blank slate, how the mind works, and the language instinct. The first edition of the novel was published in 2002, and was written by steven pinker.
I agreed, for instance, that the slate is not blank. Primarily, pinker argues against the concept of the blank slatethat is, that the mind is a blank slateshowing instead that our brains. The modern denial of human nature, steven pinker picks up an idea he began to describe in the language instinct 1994 and. His notable books included the language instinct, how the mind works, and the blank slate. The idea that the human mind has no inherent structrue and can be inscribed at will by society or by ourselves.
Pinker elegantly juggles philosophy, folkpsychology, and politics, and in the process shows exactly why it is so important that practitioners in different areas of inquiry dont lose track of. I know he puts huge time and energy into his writings but the result is a lovely flow of difficult concepts made easier. Steven arthur pinker born september 18, 1954 is a canadianamerican cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author. Steven pinker is one of the worlds leading authorities on language and the mind. Professor pinker talked about his book, the blank slate.
These myths are variously labelled as the blank slate, the noble savage, and the ghost in the machine. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. His theory was empiricism and wanted to know about psychology how the mind works and. Harvard psychology professor steven pinker questions the very nature of our thoughts the way we use words, how we learn, and how we relate to others. Although no ally of believers in the god of the bible, steven pinker, in his book the blank slate, is also clearly at odds with the triple mantra of contemporary social science, modernism, and postmodem philosophy. This is really two books in one, which may be why it is rather long. The blank slate deserves all the praise it has received.
Here, pinker talks about his thesis, and why some people found it. Steven pinker s the blank slate exposes the nature nurture debate and examines the very foundation of human identity. Each time you need to write something down, click the bookmark and just start typing. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traitsa doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past. Pinker elegantly juggles philosophy, folkpsychology, and politics, and in the process shows exactly why it is so important that practitioners in different areas of inquiry dont lose track of what goes on in other, related fields. His theory was empiricism and wanted to know about psychology how the mind works and epistemology how people come to know the truth. Sep 15, 2002 the blank slate by steven pinker allen lane. Nick gillespie and ronald bailey from the october 2002 issue. Steven pinker s book the blank slate argues that all humans are born with some innate traits. Steven pinker is one of the worlds most influential thinkers and writers on the human condition. The mind cannot be a blank slate, because blank slates dont do anything. The blank slate 2002 is about the huge role that evolution and genetics play in making us who we are. The blank slate, steven pinker 9780140276053 boeken. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the blank slate.
The modern denial of human nature, steven pinker picks up an idea he began to describe in the language instinct 1994 and how the mind works 1997. The modern denial of human nature by steven pinker the blank slate is an ambitious book that goes after the blank slate fallacy that is the idea that the human mind has no inherent structure and can be inscribed at will by society or ourselves. Feb 09, 20 professor pinker talked about his book, the blank slate. Locke the blank slate was attributed to one of his ideas, however, his idea was actually using the metaphor of a white paper being painted on by experience. The modern denial of human nature penguin press science new ed by pinker, steven isbn. The blank slate by steven pinker book summary good book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the blank slate. The blank slate pdf summary steven pinker 12min blog. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traitsa doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past centurydenies our common. In the blank slate, steven pinker explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. Steven pinkers embarrassing new book is a feeble sermon for rattled liberals the purpose of pinker s laborious work is to reassure liberals that they are on the right side of history. According to pinker, the blank slate is demonstrably false. Steven pinker audio books, best sellers, author bio. The modern denial of human nature is a bestselling 2002 book by the cognitive psychologist steven pinker, in which the author makes a case.
Steven pinker makes a strong case against the belief that everyone is born a blank slate and influenced only by their upbringing, arguing instead that biology is a far more important factor in shaping our behaviors and personalities. The blank slate the mind has no innate traits, the noble savage people are born good and corrupted by society. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature and instead have embraced three dogmas. The blank slate by steven pinker books the guardian. The inscriptions will sit there forever unless something notices patterns in them, combines them with patterns learned at other times, uses the combinations to scribble new thoughts onto the slate, and reads the results to guide behavior toward goals. Steven pinkers the blank slate exposes the nature nurture debate and examines the very foundation of human identity. Its a socialbiological study of nature versus nature. Steven pinker succumbs to the siren calls of evolutionary psychology, cognitive science and behavioural genetics as he tries to map human. The blank slate is steven pinkers ambitious attempt to close the gap between the conventionally accepted dogma that human beings come into this world free. The blank slate naturally coexists with the ghost in the machine, too, since a slate that is blank is a hospitable place for a ghost to haunt. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the. The modern denial of human nature is a bestselling 2002 book by the cognitive psychologist steven pinker, in which the author makes a case against tabula rasa models in the social sciences, arguing that human behavior is substantially shaped by evolutionary psychological adaptations.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. In it, he describes three major theories that have shaped our understanding of. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traitsa doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past centurydenies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feelgood slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics. His popular and highly praised books include the stuff of thought, the blank slate, words and rules, how the mind works, and the language instinct.
In the blank slate, steven pinker, one of the worlds leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human. The blank slate pdf summary in the blank slate, steven pinker attempts to refute the theory that we are all born as a tabula rasa and to demonstrate to which extent human behavior is shaped by evolutionary and psychological adaptations. Here are the most important things when writing blank slates. This cited by count includes citations to the following articles in scholar. In other words, as far as pinker is concerned, nature beats nurture by a country mile. The blank slate by steven pinker commentary magazine. The modern denial of human nature, the society for general psychology awarded dr. He is johnstone family professor in the department of psychology at harvard university, and is known for his advocacy of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. Here, pinker talks about his thesis, and why some people found it incredibly upsetting.
2 831 618 437 149 1113 646 902 1512 884 407 1162 82 1415 863 1144 670 636 212 21 1502 1121 641 796 1036 1089 330 1511 981 1315 161 1502 403 1040 1396 12 1373 497 1480 712 153 491 1358 527