Category Archives: Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 10

Posted on Friday 2 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Finally: the last topic chapter, about The Arts, and then the final chapter. Earlier posts about this book: post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4, post 5, post 6, post 7, post 8, post 9. – – – –Ch20, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Human Nature, Psychology, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 10

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 9

Posted on Thursday 1 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

This time: Children. The old nature vs. nurture debate is too simplistic and binary. Given implications of our innate human nature, the (by now unsurprising) takeaway here is that parents have far less influence on their children than people have … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Children, Culture, Human Nature, Psychology, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 9

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 8

Posted on Wednesday 31 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

This time: Gender. Are there innate differences between the sexes, or not? What does denial of the Blank Slate say about gender policies? And about rape. Earlier posts about this book: post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4, post … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 8

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 7

Posted on Tuesday 30 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today: Violence. Are humans inherently violent? Is war inevitable? Or is violence learned behavior? This chapter, of course, anticipates Pinker’s later book, THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE, which documents how violence has *declined* throughout human history, though that’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 7

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 6

Posted on Monday 29 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The final section of the book is about various “Hot Button” topics: politics, violence, gender, children, and the arts. These chapters show how the doctrines of the blank slate, the noble savage, and the ghost in the machine have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Morality, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 6

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 5

Posted on Wednesday 24 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

After being distracted by Texas affairs, politics, Riven, and reading Brian Greene and others, let’s get back to this book and try to finish summarizing it and capturing key points. This and one more post. Earlier posts about this book: … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Morality, Science, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 5

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 4

Posted on Wednesday 26 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Another five chapters, mostly addressing the fears people have with the idea of an innate human nature, as opposed to the idealized blank slate: concerning inequality, imperfectibility, determinism, and nihilism. Earlier posts about this book: post 1, post 2, post … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Science, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 4

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 3

Posted on Monday 24 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Summaries and comments about three more chapters of Steven Pinker’s THE BLANK SLATE; And YouTube tracks from one of my favorite film scores: Richard Robbins’ for The Remains of the Day. I’ll try to get through the rest of book … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Music, Science, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 3

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 2

Posted on Wednesday 5 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

(Advisory: I’m traveling to Austin TX tomorrow through Sunday, and so will not be posting here until next Monday, likely.) A key point about this book is that Pinker shows how the facts (the science) of human nature undermine both … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Psychology, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 2

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 1

Posted on Tuesday 4 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “The Modern Denial of Human Nature” (Viking, Oct. 2002, 509pp, including 75pp appendix, notes, references, and index) This is an enormous, thorough book on a topic already covered to some extent by several of the other major books I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Psychology, science fiction, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 1