Dr. Steven Pinker-The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

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This lecture was recorded on October 23, 2011 as part of the Distinguished Science Lecture Series hosted by Michael Shermer and presented by The Skeptics Society in California (1992-2015).
Dr. Steven Pinker discusses his book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as the Harvard University psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened? This groundbreaking work continues Pinker’s exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives-the inner demons and the better angels-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail.
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3 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 37

@karenness5588 3 года назад

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." No kidding.

@davidwilkie9551 3 года назад

An excellent statement of position and research to back up the propositions. General Practices are more open to analysis and the trend towards an application of transactions through Open Ledger may be a symptom?

@aguastheclown 3 года назад

His take on RW political violence in America needs a revised edition...

@sulljoh1 3 года назад

Lots of dispassionate, critical thinking in this comments section 😬

@weshard1 3 года назад

Title music borrowed from the 80s.

@samibouajaja3800 3 года назад

Congratulations ... some have fallen prey to availability heuristic ... my advice to you: check the data, check pinker's books.

@nilesfree 3 года назад

Has child sex trafficking really declined?

@judyh3305 3 года назад

People die secondary to starvation and neglect. It’s not just about the obvious violent killing. Comparing centuries ago to current day has screwed stats as the population is considerably greater. Furthermore, you are not referring to 2020 pandemic. Riots and divisiveness of 2020 is greater and violence is not restricted to outright bodily harm. Violence can be seen in narcissistic and mental illness. Violent thoughts are more deadly.

@monkerud2108 3 года назад

btw my point was a joke, that's not why and I know that. M Schermer, I don't mind tho :-) or the skeptic magazine I just think pinker is one of the most overvalued heads on this here piece of gravel.

@grantfrith9589 3 года назад

I can't help but think depression and other mental issues are taking the place of the violence in a world committed to wrapping us all in the bosom of the state. The question I'm beginning to ask is that, at what point the benign life offered by an overarching state becomes so unbearable and meaningless that we simply all lose the will to live?

@DrLimbic 3 года назад

There is a lot to say for the epidemic of depression being due to loss of authentic human connection. It is definitely a multifactorial phenomenon. Book titled Tribe is a great book that explores this.

@grantfrith9589 3 года назад

@@DrLimbic Thank you. Hopefully I'll get a chance to read it some day. That loss as far as I can see is attributed to the state. We are extremely complicated beings and I haven't yet come across a sufficiently articulate answer to the psychological effect of the current Zeitguitst. I suspect the the utopian mouse experiments are critical in beginning to understand the landscape. Also I recall the series "tribal wives" has something deep to offer to the conversation, but it's unlikely in this day and age that we can even discuss these things properly, let alone resolve them.

@grantfrith9589 3 года назад

PS: I think I've appreciated Pinker before, but in this presentation it felt underdeveloped and egotistical. I have more questions than ever and no confidence in a direction.

@DrLimbic 3 года назад

@@grantfrith9589 I didn't get impression. Can you clarify?

@grantfrith9589 3 года назад

@@DrLimbic Thank you for your question. I wish I could. Pinker is a much more intelligent gent than myself. I dont have a sufficiently articulate push back as the answer appears to be much more intuitive than rational. I think we are exploring these things in modern story telling better than we are in the collective discourse. If you're into science fiction "I robot" exposes the dilemma very well. At the point the three laws reach their logical conclusion the audience is universally horrified at consequential loss of freedom. From a Darwinian perspective maybe we should begin to suspect that there may be a healthy function for taboo aspects of ourselves such as bullying or hierarchical structures. The result of removing the sharks from the gulf of Mexico I think reflects the social consequences of the rationalizing of intellectual attemps of social constructionists... Once the sharks are gone you're left with a lack of opportunity and diversity. The consequence is an ocean decimated by a swarm of Humboldt squid. Not sure if I'm on to anything but as I said It's more intuitive on my part. Intellectualism seems to me to be undermining something more complex than we are willing to accept collectively. I wish I had a more fully formed rebuttal against the current Zeitguitst, but the best I have is a vague conservative rejection against the general trends, particularly the trend to replace individual responsibility for collective responsibility.