The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (Unabridged)
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4.4 • 29 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. 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 past century - denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts.
Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense.
NOTE: Some changes to the original text have been made with the author's approval.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic
It is hard to fault this book. It is well written and thoroughly argued. Chapter 20 is a daring critique of postmodernism from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. He is one of the rare pundits to tackle the absurdities of contemporary culture. I highly recommend it.
Classic Strawman Argument
Pinker defines “blank slate” before he shows his own definition is wrong. Imagine a classroom with a brand new blackboard. The blackboard is a blank slate. But, does that mean the classroom has no purpose? Does it mean the classroom does not exist? A newborn human is well defined as “all potential”, born without any knowledge of the world it has entered. If that is correct definition of a “blank slate” I think it is correct.
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