MY OPINIONS ON PINKER’S HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (COMMENT).

MY OPINIONS ON PINKER’S HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (COMMENT). I have revisited Pinker’s arguments on violence because I have been thinking about it a good bit. My thoughts at this point (before reading the book): First, the most important thing about the book is its originality. Pinker asks a very important question in a way that has not been asked before. Next, I agree with Dick’s rejection of Pinker’s argument that the last hundred years reflect a decline in violence. It is not legitimate to exclude outliers by saying that “except for…..” The same argument could be used to exclude major tragedies in other centuries. Then, Pinker’s summary of the archaeological evidence that savages weren’t noble and that human nature was violent from the beginning is persuasive to me. Finally, I find comfort in Pinker’s hopeful analysis of the restraints on violence that have developed—what erik calls argumentation.

This entry was posted in History, Politics. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.