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The blank slate : the modern denial of human nature / Steven Pinker.

By: Material type: TextPublication details: New York : Viking, 2002.Description: xiii, 509 p. ill. ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 0670031518 (alk. paper)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 155.2/34 21
LOC classification:
  • BF341 .P47 2002
Contents:
Pt. I. The Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine. Ch. 1. The Official Theory. Ch. 2. Silly Putty. Ch. 3. The Last Wall to Fall. Ch. 4. Culture Vultures. Ch. 5. The Slate's Last Stand -- Pt. II. Fear and Loathing. Ch. 6. Political Scientists. Ch. 7. The Holy Trinity -- Pt. III. Human Nature with a Human Face. Ch. 8. The Fear of Inequality. Ch. 9. The Fear of Imperfectibility. Ch. 10. The Fear of Determinism. Ch. 11. The Fear of Nihilism -- Pt. IV. Know Thyself. Ch. 12. In Touch with Reality. Ch. 13. Out of Our Depths. Ch. 14. The Many Roots of Our Suffering. Ch. 15. The Sanctimonious Animal -- Pt. V. Hot Buttons. Ch. 16. Politics. Ch. 17. Violence. Ch. 18. Gender. Ch. 19. Children. Ch. 20. The Arts -- Pt. VI. The Voice of the Species -- App. Donald E. Brown's List of Human Universals.
Review: "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."--BOOK JACKET.
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Holdings
Cover image Item type Current library Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Vol info URL Copy number Status Notes Date due Barcode Item holds Item hold queue priority Course reserves
Monograph ( Printed materials) ARRUPE LIBRARY Main Collection Main Collection BF341.P47 2002 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 46500024372
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Includes bibliographical references (p.461-489) and index.

Pt. I. The Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine. Ch. 1. The Official Theory. Ch. 2. Silly Putty. Ch. 3. The Last Wall to Fall. Ch. 4. Culture Vultures. Ch. 5. The Slate's Last Stand -- Pt. II. Fear and Loathing. Ch. 6. Political Scientists. Ch. 7. The Holy Trinity -- Pt. III. Human Nature with a Human Face. Ch. 8. The Fear of Inequality. Ch. 9. The Fear of Imperfectibility. Ch. 10. The Fear of Determinism. Ch. 11. The Fear of Nihilism -- Pt. IV. Know Thyself. Ch. 12. In Touch with Reality. Ch. 13. Out of Our Depths. Ch. 14. The Many Roots of Our Suffering. Ch. 15. The Sanctimonious Animal -- Pt. V. Hot Buttons. Ch. 16. Politics. Ch. 17. Violence. Ch. 18. Gender. Ch. 19. Children. Ch. 20. The Arts -- Pt. VI. The Voice of the Species -- App. Donald E. Brown's List of Human Universals.

"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."--BOOK JACKET.

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