The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature Paperback – August 26, 2003

Steven Pinker is a prominent member of a new cohort of science populizers with genuine scientific credentials (which includes, in the area of brain studies, such authors as Joseph LeDoux, Antonio Damasio, Daniel Dennett). His latest book is by far his most political therefore his most important. As it turns out, the data show that we have much in common as members of the human species, and the news is not all bad.In the Blank Slate, Pinker directly addresses the major ideological impediments which prevent the widespread adoption of an enlightened, scientifically valid view of humanity. People have opposed the idea of human nature, Pinker argues, due to the adherence to three ideas: the Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine.After presenting empirical and philosophical arguments against this trio of ideas, Pinker turns to directly addressing the fears accompany the denial of human nature. Specifically, people fear that human nature bolsters the acceptance of inequality (and hence injustice) and prevents progress and perfectability of people and society. Pinker counters that such fears are founded upon an exaggerated and overly simplistic view of the manner in which our genes influence our thoughts and actions. Such influences always remain beneath our consciousness and volition; they are one of the ultimate causes of our behavior, but never the sole cause or the immediate cause. This relates to another major fear: the fear of biological determinism, the absence of free will. Pinker also discusses the fear of nihilism, the fear that once our actions and preferences are understood to be rooted in biology, our lives will loose meaning and morality. Again, Pinker shows that such fears are founded upon misunderstanding and oversimplification, as well as the confusion between ultimate casues and mechanism, on the one hand, and the immediate and proximate causes on the other.In general, many progressives on the political Left have embraced the Blank Slate and the Noble Savage to provide the foundation for ideologies of cultural transformation and reform, in the service of redressing injustices and inequalities. Unfortunately, as Pinker demonstrates, the evidence (as well as our own common sense experiences) indicates that we are neither Blank Slates or Noble Savages. The sum total of our inherited tendencies, our human nature, is neither wicked or noble. Nonetheless, there is the fear, found on both the political Left and Right, that embracing human nature also means normalizing and sanctioning the unseamly side of ourselves. But, as Pinker argues, "natural" is an empirical judgement; "good" is a moral one.Some critics have argued that no one really believes in the Blank Slate any more, and that Pinker is fighting "straw men." I think, however, that Pinker does a good job of showing that Blank Slate positions are often the implicit default in matters of public discussion and policy making; Blank Slate ideas continue to misguide efforts, even when the Blank Slate is not intentionally invoked.The third notion which Pinker disputes, the Ghost in the Machine, is far more important to people committed to the political Right, because the Ghost is frequently equated with the immaterial spiritual soul. The major implication of modern neuroscience has been that the workings of the human mind can be adequately explained by the workings of the human brain, as Pinker has shown in more detail in his previous book, How the Mind Works. The more we learn about brain function, the more it has taken over the job description previously assigned to the soul or to the Ghost. The Ghost remains in the mind of many as the only possible foundation for Free Will, and hence meaning and morality. Free will and an inherited human nature are not necessarily contradictory, however, as long as one avoids a simplistic biological determinism in which genes directly control our actions and opinions.In place of all these fears, Pinker constructs an empirically-supported view of our human nature, addressing in turn 1) the reliabilty and veracity of our perception and our understanding of the world; 2) the sources of interpersonal conflict as well as the sources of a realistic (non-supernatural) morality; 3) the hot-buton topics of race, gender, violence, and child rearing. This is were some of the real meat, the empirical data, is to be found; and this is where Pinker makes good on his claims that accepting the idea of human nature is neither dangerously reactionary or bebasing.An acquaintance of mine wondered just who this book was intended for, since it appeared to be written above the level of your average person. So be it: Science can be popularized by good writing and clear thinking, but it cannot be greatly simplified without significant loss of coherence and cogency. The book is intended for us: for whoever has the motivation to pick it up or to read this review. If you've read this far, do yourself a favor and read Pinker's book. It's not only fascinating and well-argued; it's important.

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven PinkerThe Blank Slate is an ambitious book that goes after the blank slate fallacy that is the idea that the human mind has no inherent structure and can be inscribed at will by society or ourselves. It's a social-biological study of nature versus nature. This excellent 528 page-book is composed of the following six parts: Part I. The Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine, Part II. Fear and Loathing, Part III. Human Nature with a Human Face, Part IV. Know Thyself, Part V. Hot Buttons, and Part VI. The Voice of the Species.Positives:1. Steven Pinker the well known Professor of Psychology at Harvard University writes thought-provoking, well-researched books and this book is no different.2. Professor Pinker goes after the doctrines of the Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine and does so with gusto and a mountain of scientific evidence.3. I'm glad someone finally refers to Social Darwinism to what it really is, "Social Spencerism".4. The fallacy of behaviorists.5. The theory of mind explained.6. Great quotes with conviction. "The evidence is overwhelming that every aspect of our mental lives depends entirely on physiological events in the tissues of the brain".7. The three great outrages of self-love.8. How genes affect our behavior..."Small differences in the genes can lead to large differences in behavior".9. Evolution is central to the understanding of life.10. Culture defined.11. Fascinating look at how our brains remain active during "assembly".12. Evolutionary biology used to explain the complex cognitive and behavioral adaptations.13. The attacks on "determinism" and "reductionism".14. The religious opposition to evolution and its intended corruption of American science education.15. The religious opposition to neuroscience. The exorcism of the human soul. I would love a whole book on just this topic!16. The dangerous fallacy of equating evolutionary psychology with "Social Darwinism".17. Debunking the four fears over the anxiety of human nature.18. The fact that all species harbor genetic variability, but our species is among the less variable ones. Racial differences being among them.19. The disposal of eugenics, discrimination, and Social Darwinism.20. Many excellent messages throughout the book, "An idea is not false or evil because the Nazis misused it".21. The fallacies of Nazism and Marxism. Nazism with races and the Marxists with classes.22. Homosexuality in its proper form.23. The importance of respecting women's fundamental rights to their bodies.24. The compatibility of human nature with social and moral progress. Excellent!25. The debunking of environmental determinism.26. How our minds work.27. The fallacy of the soul!28. The co-evolution of intelligence and language.29. The importance of our genes.30. The ethics of autonomy, community and divinity explained.31. Tragic Vision and Utopian outlooks.32. Interesting take on the goals of the Constitution. How to anticipate and limit that corruption became an obsession of the framers.33. Interesting take on economics.34. Fascinating look at the fallacy of the connection between media violence and violent behavior.35. The logic of violence.36. The understanding of true equality.37. Gender under a true light.38. The appalling notion that rape has nothing to do with rape. Thank you.39. The three laws of behavioral genetics.40. Many parenting myths debunked, bravo!41. A good grasp of how the mind works is indispensable to the arts.42. Great notes.43. Extensive references.Negatives:1. Links did not work. A real crime for a book like this.2. Not an even-handed approach. Mr. Pinker has his opinions and does not hesitate to use them. This could be considered a positive but it's not because the author does unleash ad hominen attacks to some of his opponents. For example, B.F. Skinner.3. The book could be tedious to read at times.4. It requires an investment of time. The book is too long.5. A more comprehensive summary at end of each chapter would have been added value.In summary, this is an important contribution to knowledge. This book is worthy of five stars just based on the wisdom you will obtain. Many important ideas and thoughts are found throughout this ambitious book. Such as, that new ideas from the sciences of human nature DO NOT undermine human values.Further suggestions: "Human" by Michael S. Gazzaniga, "SuperSense" by Bruce M. Hood, "The Myth of Free Will" by Cris Evatt, "Hardwired Behavior" by Laurence Tancredi, "Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality" by Patricia S. Churchland, and "The Brain and the Meaning of Life" by Paul Thagard.