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The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature By Steven Pinker ( Penguin (Non-Classics) )
Release Date: 2003-08-26
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List Price: $16.00
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Product 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.
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 Nature vs. Nurture
A must read! Throughout this book, Pinker shows a thorough knowledge of a wide variety of fields, covering from neuroscience to politics to philosophy and much more. This book argues against the premise that the human brain begins as an empty tablet awaiting the experiences of life to teach it how to think and act. It's the "nature versus nurture" question revisited- but this time both sides win. You have to read the book to see what I mean.
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This Will Change You (Nature v. Nurture)
If you are interested in considering that many people get ahead in life due to genetics moreso than previously thought then this book is for you. Culture, Environment, and Experience are weighed heavily in our reality, but "Slate" should open your perspective for sure. This book is the best of its kind.
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 What does Pinker mean?
Neuroscience increasingly helps us understand the biological basis for human perceptions and patterns of thought. Pinker writes about these new findings as part of a nature vs. nurture debate. I am interested in these arguments, but I couldn't understand Pinker's position until I got to about page 200. There is substance to this book, but I had to work hard to understand it.
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One of the best books ever ( tempemonkey )
Yeah, I dont mean to come across the wrong way but i do have a degree in philosophy and i honestly think this is one of the best books i have ever read. Even in light of Kant, Hume, Locke, (Descartes sucks), Aristotle etc... This book does NOT seem to create an original system of philosophical thinking, rather this book is a synthesis of all intellectual pursuits put together, Anthropology, psychology, neurology, philosophy, history, etc... His main thesis is determinism, which in my opinion will be the next revolution in the culture of mankind... Similar to the so called Darwinian Revolution... In a nutshell our brains, more than our environments or so called free will, control our actions...
I highly recommend this book...
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Blank Slate is erased
Stephen Pinker does an admirable job debunking the myth of the blank slate in this tome. Yes, what he says should be common sense by now. No, it is not.
There are many places in the book where Pinker's values and background become evident. However, these are a small price to pay for a great book.
So, what does Pinker do that's so great?
1) He takes his opponents seriously and mounts his case slowly, step by step, taking the reader along with him.
2) He illustrates that having a blank slate view of human nature is not morally righteous at all. (important for all those disposed to the moralistic fallacy)
3) He does not talk down to the reader. Contrary to another reviewer, this book is not overly simplistic. There are points here and there where debate is possible, but overall it is highly accurate.
When you are done with this book, you should have no doubt that genetics and evolution were and are very important in human life. Natural selection is the only theory which can explain human behavior- period.
On the more controversial side, Pinker devotes many pages explicating Judith Rich Harris' theory about child development. Her views are very contentious, but provocative. Her basic argument is that children are MORE influenced by peer group socialization than the parenting style they lived under. Harris reached this conclusion after studying the behavioral genetic evidence. In behavioral genetics, it is known that all measured traits are heritable. Further, after subtracting genetic influence, unshared environment accounts for most of the left over variation- not shared environment. This is perplexing to most because it suggests that most environmental influences on personality come from WITHIN families not BETWEEN them. In short, two adopted siblings are no more alike than two strangers on the street, even though they share the same environment. Wheras, two twins seperated at birth are no more different than two twins who grow up in the same household.
Pinker largely accepts Harris' theory, with slight reservations. D.C. Rowe presented a similar theory years earlier as well. The controversy still rages. It is a bit premature to pick sides. Pinker seems to, but he does tell the reader that Harris' theory is the minority view.
In the end, this book can be read with pleasure by anyone. It is especially usefull to cite as a reference when having vapid debates with soiciologists. Most of Pinker's statements should be truisms. Unfortunately, they are not; Fortunately, he took the time to synthesize the insurmountable evidence against blank-slaters!
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