The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

Steven Pinker

Penguin Adult, Jun 5, 2003 - Science - 528 pages

From bestselling author Stephen Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature shatters the myths surrounding human behaviour and 'nature versus nurture'. Recently many people have assumed that we are shaped by our environment: a blank slate waiting to be inscribed by upbringing and culture, with innate abilities playing little part. The Blank Slate shows that this view denies the heart of our being: human nature. Violence is not just a product of society; male and female minds are different; the genes we give our children shape the more than our parenting practices. To acknowledge our nature, Pinker shows, is not to condone inequality, but to understand the very foundations of humanity. 'Magnificent and timely'
  Sunday Telegraph 'A passionate defence of the enduring power of human nature ... both life-affirming and deeply satisfying'
  Tim Lott, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year 'Brilliant ... enjoyable, informative, clear, humane'
  New Scientist Steven Pinker is a best-selling author and Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for cognitive Neuroscience at MIT. Pinker has been awarded research prizes from the National Academy of Sciences and the American Psychological Association, graduate and undergraduate teaching prizes from MIT, and book prizes from the American Psychological Association, the Linguistics Society of America and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and The Language Instinct.

What people are saying

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

User Review  - Andy - Goodreads

Pinker claims there is much opposition to the idea that biology (as opposed to parenting, etc.) is an important determinant of human behavior. This seems fishy to me because it is the exact opposite ...

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

User Review  - Linsey Duncan - Goodreads

So here's a case where you have a book about how much of our personalities and, well, nature is innate, rather than nurtured into us by our parents or our environment. If The Blank Slate were two ...

About the author

Steven Pinker is the best selling author of THE LANGUAGE INSTINCT and HOW THE MIND WORKS.

He is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature; Penguin Press Science Series
• Author: Steven Pinker
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Penguin Adult, 2003
• ISBN: 014027605X, 9780140276053
• Length: 528 pages
• Subjects: Science / General