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Quote by Steven Pinker

“I think students should know something about religion as a historical phenomenon, in the same way that they should know something about socialism and humanism and the other great ideas that have shaped political philosophies and therefore the course of human events.”

Quote by Steven Pinker

Author

Steven Pinker is a renowned cognitive psychologist, linguist, and author. His research focuses on language, cognition, and human behavior, particularly the relationship between language and thought. Pinker is known for his in-depth research on the evolution of language and his contributions to the field of cognitive science. more

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“I think this confusion leads intellectuals and artists themselves to believe that the elite arts and humanities are a kind of higher, exalted form of human endeavor.”

Thinking Believe Humans Kind Art Form Artist Humanity Higher Confusion Endeavor Elites Exalted Arts And Humanities

Author:Steven Pinker

“I try to jog in every city I visit, and I particularly enjoy harbour-front paths that let me ogle big ships, railroad bridges and the ruins of factories and warehouses.”

Trying Bigs Enjoy Cities Path Fronts Let Me Ships Ruins Bridges Factories Railroads Warehouse Harbour

Author:Steven Pinker

“If crime is going down, you shouldn't be increasing resources for crime prevention. Or you should be taking note of what has worked and concentrate the crime-prevention methods on policies that have a track record of success.”

Ifs Should Records Crime Policy Resources Method Notes Track Prevention Track Record

Author:Steven Pinker

“If you aren't just brought up in your tribe but interact with other people either directly or vicariously, through journalism and literature, you see what life is like from other points of view and are less likely to demonize them or dehumanize others and more likely to empathize with them.”

People Ifs Life Is Literature Views Point Of View Journalism Tribes Life Is Like

Author:Steven Pinker

“If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or both. Anarchy is one of the main reasons for violence, and it may be the most important.”

People Ifs Looks May Important Reason Violence Rate Anarchy Warfare Homicide

Author:Steven Pinker

“In the 1970s, many intellectuals had become political radicals. Marxism was correct, liberalism was for wimps, and Marx had pronounced that 'the ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class.'”

Ideas Age Political Class Radical Liberalism Ruling Marxism Wimps

Book:The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

Source: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

“It is true that raids and battles killed a tiny percentage of the numbers that die in modern warfare. But in tribal violence, the clashes are more frequent, the percentage of men in the population who fight is greater, and the rates of death per battle are higher.”

Men Dies Fighting Numbers Greater Violence Modern Higher Battle Rate Population Tiny Warfare Percentages Clash Modern Warfare

Author:Steven Pinker

“It's likely that taboo words are stored in the right hemisphere of the brain. Massive left hemisphere strokes or the entire surgical removal of the left hemisphere can leave people with no articulate speech other than the ability to swear, spout cliches and song lyrics.”

People Song Left Ability Brain Speech Massive Swear Strokes Cliche Taboo Removal Hemisphere

Author:Steven Pinker

“Jews are known for many things, but strength, swiftness, and agility are not among them. There is one trait, as controversial as it is familiar, for which Jews are above all known, and that is shrewdness in business.”

Known Jew Familiar Traits Controversial Agility Swiftness Shrewdness

Author:Steven Pinker

“Language pedants hew to an oral tradition of shibboleths that have no basis in logic or style, that have been defied by great writers for centuries, and that have been disavowed by every thoughtful usage manual.”

Has Beens Language Century Style Tradition Logic Bases Thoughtful Manuals Great Writers Usage Pedants Oral Tradition

Author:Steven Pinker