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
History Has Begun
The God Proof
Buffett
An Elegant Defense
Competition Demystified
Diaminds
The Inevitable
The Checklist Manifesto
Thai Stick
Live Free or Die
Leonardo Da Vinci
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Total Freedom
Shook One
The Light Of Other Days
The Tyrrany of Guilt
The Warren Buffett Way
Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953
Off The Record
Physics from Finance
Everything Happens For a Reason
The Art Of Doing Science And Engineering
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
Ghost Fleet
Conspiracy of Fools
How to Teach Your Baby to Read
The Future Is Faster Than You Think
Startups
We Are The Nerds
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Tribe
The Alchemy of Air
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
A Confederacy of Dunces
The Spy and The Traitor
Born to Run
Million Dollar Weekend
The 10,000 Year Explosion
A Life
One Simple Idea
The Obstacle Is the Way
In Pursuit of the Common Good
Zen in the Art of Archery
The Ones We Have Been Waiting For
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
What It Takes
The Song of the Cell
Scaling People
Accidental Presidents
I am Anne Frank
Deng Xiaoping and The Transformation of China
I Think, Therefore I Laugh
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn
The Art of Living and Dying
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
The Spider Network
The Tartar Steppe
Technopoly
In Defense of a Liberal Education
The River War
The Dream Machine
The Story of Design
Leaders
Why Information Grows
The Price of Tomorrow
Virtual Economies
Adaptive Markets
Grit
The Infidel and the Professor
Virtual Society
Foundation and Earth
The Robotics Primer
The Black Dahlia
Payoff
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics
King Lear
Remote: Office Not Required
Game of Thorns
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
Complexity
Leonardo Da Vinci
The 4 Hour Body
The Gospel of Wealth
Winning
Dune Messiah
More Heat Than Light
An Inconvenient Truth
The Utopia of Rules
Out of Mao's Shadow
The Three Body Problem
The Science of Success
How To Win at the Sport of Business
Hell Yeah or No
The Oz Principle
The Great Rupture
The Promise of a Pencil
The Great Illusion
The Venture Mindset
The Age of Entitlement
The World