The Blank Slate

The Modern Denial of Human Nature

Steven Pinker

Recommended By

Book Synopsis

"The Blank Slate" by Steven Pinker explores the notion of human nature and the ongoing debate surrounding it. Pinker argues against the idea of a blank slate, positing that humans are not born as blank slates with their minds empty and ready to be shaped solely by their environment.

In this thought-provoking book, Pinker challenges the theories of cultural determinism, blank slateism, and social constructivism. He argues that humans have innate predispositions and tendencies shaped by evolutionary processes, genetics, and brain wiring. Pinker delves into an array of topics, including language acquisition, aggression, morality, and gender identity, demonstrating how these behaviors and characteristics have roots in our biological makeup.

Pinker draws upon various disciplines such as neuroscience, genetics, and psychology to provide a comprehensive analysis of the concept of human nature. He also refutes the notion that acknowledging human nature leads to deterministic outcomes or justifies certain societal inequalities.

Through accessible and engaging prose, Pinker presents a compelling case for understanding the importance of human nature and how it influences our behavior and our society. "The Blank Slate" invites readers to reconsider widely-held beliefs about the malleability of human beings, offering a fresh perspective on the complex interplay between biology and culture in shaping the human experience.

Explore More Books

See All
QED
The Salmon of Doubt
The Aspirational Investor
The Rational Optimist
Lonesome Dove
101 Things I Learned in Engineering School
The Little Book of Investing Like the Pros
The Time Machine
My Forty Years with Ford
Why Minsky Matters
Distress
The Four
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Resurrection From The Underground
One Simple Idea
Hackers
The Prophet
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
Peter Pan
The Psychology of Money
Queen of Fashion
Getting Things Done
Bitcoin and Black America
What You Want
The Story of Philosophy
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
The Art of Possibility
The Boys in the Boat
Evicted
River Out of Eden
The Painted Bird
Grass Farmers
Secrets of Sand Hill Road
Statistical Consequences of Fat Tails
The Trial
Leaders
Maestro
Global Crisis
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
The Line Becomes a River
Euclid's Elements
Super Pumped
Billion Dollar Whale
Ficciones
Intellectual Life in the Middle Ages
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
The Bias That Divides Us
Atlas Shrugged
The Contrary Farmer
Eisenhower
Benjamin Franklin
Delivering Happiness
The Warburgs
Modelling Extremal Events
Rage Becomes Her
Just Kids
The Sense of Style
Team of Teams
The Canceling of the American Mind
The Outsiders
Hagakure
High Growth Handbook
Thirst
The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order
Mohandas K. Ghandi
On Immunity
Hell Yeah or No
Rubicon
World Order
The Billionaire Shell Game
All Over but the Shoutin'
A Guide To The Good Life
The Fifth Season
The Art of Travel
The Invisible Gorilla
Master Of The Game
Mindfulness in Plain English
The House of Getty
Discovering Your Personality Type
The Blind Watchmaker
The Fault in Our Stars
The Great Book of Amber
Virus of the Mind
The Lessons of History
The Cultural Cold War
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage
Against The Gods
The Great Illusion
Warren Buffett
Army Of None
No Easy Day
A Mind at Home with Itself
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
Out of Many, One
Hug Your Haters
The Female Brain
The Boys Vol. 1
Open
Greenlights