The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
Oct 2011 · Sold by Penguin
4.6star
65 reviews
Ebook
832
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About this ebook
“If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this—the most inspiring book I've ever read."
—Bill Gates (May, 2017)
Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year
The author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now offers a provocative and surprising history of violence.
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millenia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, programs, gruesom punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?
This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the esesnce of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives--the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away--and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.
—Bill Gates (May, 2017)
Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year
The author of Rationality and Enlightenment Now offers a provocative and surprising history of violence.
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millenia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, programs, gruesom punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?
This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the esesnce of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives--the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away--and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.
Ratings and reviews
4.6
65 reviews
vance s angeles
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May 15, 2020
this author is blind to facts and reality. go to the inner cities-you don't have to go far from where you are. visit other countries and the violence there will pluck your eyes out. go to the Syria-Turkey border, and you'll realize what the " non-existent " violence really is. go to the red light districts in mainland asia and see the violence there. things will not look as cute anymore.
3 people found this review helpful
Kenneth Chisholm
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January 8, 2017
In the darkest moments of our time, let Steven Pinker provide you a powerfully hopeful perspective about humanity's history and its nature. With extensive historical and scientific research and detailed eloquent explanation, Pinker will show that Humanity can change for the better, and so far over the centuries, we have. While he includes the caveats that we could regress, you will understand that there is more to humanity as a whole than our worst. Just read this enthralling book, and you can understand what he means.
11 people found this review helpful
Abe Camerlin
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December 25, 2017
This book changed the way I view the world. The way we look at the current state of things is extremely short sighted without an understanding of the larger, slower tends that are revealed by history. This book will cure you of the doom and gloom that dominates most news content. Don't get it twisted, Pinker doesn't make the case that the world of today is perfect, but significant progress is undeniable.
17 people found this review helpful
About the author
Steven Pinker is the Harvard College Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and the winner of many awards for his research, teaching, and books, he has been named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World Today and Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers.
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