Interviews With Steven Pinker

Here is an interesting interview with Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard. Pinker is the author of "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature" (an excellent book I read last summer).

In his book, Pinker examines evidence from evolutionary psychology that strongly underscores the existence of a human nature all of us are born with and systematically debunks the idea that man is born as a "tabla rasa" (blank slate) that can be shaped and molded in any way we see fit. The implications of Pinker's research are wide-ranging, affecting economics, crime, child-rearing, gender differences, politics, social organization, etc.

Here is an excellent primer on evolutionary psychology written by Leda Cosmides, a Professor of Psychology at UC Santa Barbara. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Cosmides at the Social Change Workshop at the University of Virginia last summer. She was delightful to talk with. I am fascinated by her and Pinker's research. While I am not 100% convinced on all of the presuppositions in evolutionary psychology, I find the subject absolutely fascinating and think it yields some tremendous insights.

At the end of his book, Pinker has this list of Human Universals. This summarizes traits that all people in around the world share in common, regardless of language or culture. A partial list of what characteristics make us human and some key aspects of human nature. Simply fascinating!

Also, here is a video interview with Pinker, in which he explains more about evolutionary psychology.

Hattip Marginal Revolution.