β Scribed by Pinker, Steven
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. He shows how many intellectuals have denied the existence of human nature by embracing three linked dogmas: the Blank Slate (the mind has no innate traits), the Noble Savage (people are born good and corrupted by society), and the Ghost in the Machine (each of us has a soul that makes choices free from biology). Each dogma carries a moral burden, so their defenders have engaged in desperate tactics to discredit the scientists who are now challenging them.
Pinker injects calm and rationality into these debates by showing that equality, progress, responsibility, and purpose have nothing to fear from discoveries about a rich human nature. He disarms even the most menacing threats with clear thinking, common sense, and pertinent facts from science and history. Despite its popularity among intellectuals during much of the twentieth century, he argues, the doctrine of the Blank Slate may have done more harm than good. It denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces hardheaded analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of government, violence, parenting, and the arts.
Pinker shows that an acknowledgement of human nature that is grounded in science and common sense, far from being dangerous, can complement insights about the human condition made by millennia of artists and philosophers. All this is done in the style that earned his previous books many prizes and worldwide acclaim: wit, lucidity, and insight into matters great and small.
Number of Words in Auth: 2
Formats : EPUB
Number of Formats : 1
Has Cover : Yes
All Identifiers : goodreads:5752, isbn:9780142003343
Single Author : Steven Pinker
Original Source : Mirc New Files 03 07
Sorted Author by LN, FN: Pinker, Steven
Title Length : 049
Title Parm D : The Blank Slate_The Modern Denial of Human Nature
Title Parm F : The Blank Slate
Title Parm G : The Modern Denial of Human Nature
Num of Aut : 1
Title Parm B : (
Record ID : 8601
Uncomma Author : Steven Pinker
Title Parm A : The Blank Slate_The Modern Denial of Human Nature
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