The Blank Slate
The Modern Denial of Human Nature
532 pages · Released Aug 26, 2003 · Penguin
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The Blank Slate parent’s guide: what’s inside
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A note for parents
This is a dense academic work of cognitive science and philosophy intended for adult readers, not children or young adults. The book's subject matter—critiques of 'blank slate' theory in psychology and its implications for understanding human nature—requires sophisticated critical thinking and background knowledge in science, philosophy, and social theory. Without specific content details about language, examples, or argumentation style, I cannot reliably assess this book's suitability for any particular age group.
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From the publisher
A brilliant inquiry into the origins of human nature from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Enlightenment Now. "Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read..also highly persuasive." --Time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Updated with a new afterword One of the world's leading expert... A brilliant inquiry into the origins of human nature from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Enlightenment Now. "Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read..also highly persuasive." --Time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Updated with a new afterword One of the world's leading experts on language and the mind explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts. Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense.
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- Psychology
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ISBN 9781101200322 · Penguin