nyone with children should read this book. Anyone who's been a child should read this book. It's about who we are and how we think about ourselves.
Montreal-born Steven Pinker has become a "top gun" among researchers studying the mind. These studies seem removed from our daily existence, working under labels such as "cognitive studies" or "evolutionary psychology." Pinker, however, explains how vital the topic is in child rearing, education, government policies, and even crime prevention.
The "blank slate" - the belief that the newborn child's mind is empty - is an old idea. Parents, school, the churches all queue up to fill the vessel. Although challenged from many quarters, the concept persists, even among those studying the mind. Pinker wants the idea replaced by a more realistic view. We, like all the other animals, are the product of the evolutionary process. Part of that process "wires up" our brains in the womb, bringing various patterns into play as we develop. Pinker's quick to point out that this isn't "genetic determinism," that empty phrase so dear to critics of science. Instead, he contends, the brain's structure leads to the mind's formation. There are roots left over from evolution that we ignore at our peril. If we are truly "blank" at birth, Pinker contends, then there is no "free will" and any idea, good or evil, can be inserted into our thinking.
Pinker seeks a more reasonable view of our mentality. He dismisses those who think heredity makes us "animals." Only when we understand our natural roots can we properly assess the impact of social environment on our thinking. Otherwise, we will go on making unrealistic decisions on social questions. Parents can cease to agonize over perceived "failures" in childraising. We will better understand conflict resolution, dealing with it in human rather than "cultural" terms. We will no longer try to force boys to become "feminized"- typical of so many education programs. Pinker calls this new approach to social issues "biological humanism."
Unlike many studies of human nature, Pinker doesn't spend time equating us with the rest of the animals. He maintains focus on the human condition without sinking into dreary clinical accounts. With practiced prose skills, he offers evidence clearly, reasoned argument with polemics and solutions all of us can consider. There's neither rancour nor waffling over positions. Pinker knows where more work needs to be done and calls for it clearly. The one stand he takes firmly is that the "blank slate" concept must be shed and replaced by an honest view of human nature.