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Liked It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “The Blank Slate is Steven Pinker's ambitious attempt to close the gap between the conventionally accepted dogma that human beings come into this world free of innate characteristics, ready to be molded and shaped by society, and what science has begun to reveal about genetic predisposition....” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Perhaps the title should be "the Blank Slate ... not"?
R M wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
My main quibble with the book is the first section. In my view it is in the wrong place. The first section deals with the orthodox theory: the mind is a blank slate. How an individual develops is dependent on nurture. The author of course disagrees.
The heart of the theses can be found in Chapter 19 (starting at page 3720! This Chapter,"Children" , sets out a very convincing argument of the role of genetics and sociobiology in an individual's development.
Other good points: I thought the discussion on the causes of rape was well written. There was a good discussion on the relative influence of family and childhood peers. The author believes that government has an important role in effectively restraining the violent nature of males.
The first section is important since it shows how the nature versus nurture debate has been corrupted by non scientific arguments. It is important to see what is the real basis of human behaviour so that we can improve the human condition. On balance the author is successful with providing a much needed counter to the orthodox view of the human mind.”
“interesting book about the nature vs nurture debate. he argues very persuasively that we are not a blank slate, but rather come partially hard-wired. pinker is brilliant, the book is fantastic, but he gets bogged down in the details at time and writes above the heads of most popular readers. ”
Josh P wrote this review Friday, November 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Looks at the truth of human beings not how we would like them to be”
Del Ray K wrote this review Friday, October 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“One of the best books I've read.”
Michael B wrote this review Friday, July 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Difficult but interesting read. Only 1/2 way through. Livermore Library, 155.234 PIN”
Dick C wrote this review Tuesday, June 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Well worth a read for the future or current parents. Ever wondered what your child is learning to do at various points in its life, well here's your answers. Looks at the development of the human body and mind and how we go from blank slates to self conscious human beings”
Scott C wrote this review Saturday, May 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Nature or Nurture? This is a very good exploration of the topic using the most current science.”
Jean B wrote this review Sunday, April 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Refreshing. That's the best way to put it. Tired of silliness getting in the way of good discussions on the human mind? Try this one out. You may not like what he has to say, but he writes well. A great read.”
Carl S wrote this review Saturday, March 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book covers a lot of ground: philosophy, genetics, cognition, sociology and academic infighting. Steven Pinker, writing with persuasiveness and craft, shows why the doctrine of the “Blank Slate” became so important to 20th century intellectuals that they were willing to lie, cheat, libel and even threaten those who dissented. Yet, the dissenters were right. Given what science now knows of genetics, the idea that people are blank slates at birth is simply untenable. getAbstract finds that the author, despite a few hints of personal prejudices (ah, there’s human nature again), does an excellent job of grappling with enormously challenging subjects.”
getAbstract wrote this review Monday, March 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No2 of 2 members found this review helpful“The Blank Slate is Steven Pinker's ambitious attempt to close the gap between the conventionally accepted dogma that human beings come into this world free of innate characteristics, ready to be molded and shaped by society, and what science has begun to reveal about genetic predisposition.
storydancer wrote this review Thursday, November 20 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Prior to reading this book, I had no idea that the origin of human nature was such a contentious topic amongst modern intellectuals. Seems that a lot of people think acknowledging that something like violence might have been evolutionarily adaptive is the same thing as condoning violence and excusing those who engage in it, or that admitting that men and women are genetically different justifies discrimination against women. Pinker spends a lot of time in this book carefully addressing these concerns while at the same time making a compelling argument that the current tendency to deny any genetic influence on society's more vexing ills only handicaps our ability to successfully deal with our most serious problems.
Pinker is not shy about tackling controversial topics as he makes his points. The chapter in which he pointed to evidence showing that a child's intelligence and personality are shaped far more by genes, peers and random influences than they are by parents got him an enormous amount of mail, as did the section in which he discussed genetic influences on our appreciation of the arts.
Despite the radical nature of many of the theories Pinker presents, I found myself having continuous "ah-ha!" moments as I read this book. At its core, the idea that we are shaped by our genes as well as our experiences fits far better with reality than the idea that we are all moldable blank slates. Though these theories may not intellectually fashionable, Pinker makes it clear that there are a wealth of benefits to be gained by accepting what science has to tell us about the true origins of human nature.
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