The more you think about and interact with other people, the more you realize that it is untenable to privilege your interests over theirs. Steven Pinker More Quotes by Steven Pinker More Quotes From Steven Pinker In societies no less than individuals, acknowledging our limitations may ultimately be more humane than denying them. Steven Pinker humane individual may With violence, as with so many other concerns, human nature is the problem, but human nature is also the solution. Steven Pinker human-nature violence problem Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely to breed dangerous subcultures of rootless young men. Steven Pinker empowering men moving An ideology can provide a satisfying narrative that explains chaotic events and collective misfortunes in a way that flatters the virtue and competence of believers, while being vague or conspiratorial enough to withstand skeptical scrutiny. Steven Pinker narrative events way Tom Hanks, who starred in 'The Da Vinci Code,' turns out to be related to a number of the historic characters that feature in 'The Da Vinci Code,' including William the Conqueror and Shakespeare. Steven Pinker historic numbers character As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones. Steven Pinker equality people commitment Solving a problem in a hundred years is, practically speaking, the same as not solving it at all. Steven Pinker hundred problem years There is no society ever discovered in the remotest corner of the world that has not had something that we would consider the arts. Visual arts - decoration of surfaces and bodies - appears to be a human universal. Steven Pinker body world art When time permits, I try to see interesting people in the cities I visit. In Seattle, I met Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, who is shy in personality but flamboyant in his philanthropy. Steven Pinker cities people interesting Climate change could produce a lot of misery and waste without necessarily leading to large-scale armed conflict, which depends more on ideology and bad governance than on resource scarcity. Steven Pinker scarcity climate waste Theories of art carry the seeds of their own destruction. Steven Pinker destruction theory art We are visual creatures. Visual things stay put, whereas sounds fade. Steven Pinker visuals creatures sound We can make fun of hockey fans, but someone who enjoys Homer is indulging the same kind of vicarious bloodlust. Steven Pinker bloodlust hockey fun But the newest research is showing that many properties of the brain are genetically organized, and don't depend on information coming in from the senses. Steven Pinker gmos perception brain By exploring the political and moral colorings of discoveries about what makes us tick, we can have a more honest science and a less fearful intellectual milieu. Steven Pinker political intellectual discovery 'Capitalism' is a dirty word for many intellectuals, but there are a number of studies showing that open economies and free trade are negatively correlated with genocide and war. Steven Pinker numbers war dirty We really are creatures of a violent world, biologically speaking - watching violence and learning about it is one of our cognitive drives. Steven Pinker violent violence world For one thing, before the 20th century, there were plenty of genocides. We tend to forget about them, partly because they weren't as well documented and partly because, until recently, people didn't care. We used euphemisms like 'sackings' and 'sieges' instead of calling them 'genocides.' Steven Pinker care calling people I do look for openings where I can overturn popular misconceptions, but unlike Christopher Hitchens, I am neither a contrarian nor a lone heretic. I like to have a significant number of academics watching my back. Steven Pinker significant numbers looks It is true that raids and battles killed a tiny percentage of the numbers that die in modern warfare. But in tribal violence, the clashes are more frequent, the percentage of men in the population who fight is greater, and the rates of death per battle are higher. Steven Pinker fighting numbers men
