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The blank slate : the modern denial of human nature
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The blank slate : the modern denial of human nature

by Steven Pinker

This work examines the concept of human nature, challenging the theory that the mind has no innate traits. It explores how scientific evidence of biological predispositions influences the understanding of morality, politics, and social behaviour.

Accession 12073 ISBN 0670031518 Publisher Viking
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Humanity Nature Philosophy Psychology Science Social Sciences The Mind
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2026-06-10 19:09
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Hard Back
dimensions
241.00 (H) × 165.00 (W) × 44.00 (T) mm
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Identity

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The blank slate : the modern denial of human nature
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vernon_slug
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Descriptive

production_date
2002
object_type
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brief_description
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.

Subjects & people

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Steven Pinker
tags→ tags
Psychology, Philosophy, Life, Cognition, Mind and body, Philosophical anthropology, Cognitive psychology
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