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  • The Blank Slate

  • The Modern Denial of Human Nature
  • Written by: Steven Pinker
  • Narrated by: Victor Bevine
  • Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (144 ratings)

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The Blank Slate

Written by: Steven Pinker
Narrated by: Victor Bevine
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Publisher's Summary

In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, 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.

NOTE: Some changes to the original text have been made with the author's approval.

©2003 Steven Pinker (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

What the critics say

"[P]ersuasive and illuminating." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Blank Slate

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating study of human cognition

This book covers in very extensive and nuanced details how genetic factors may play a role in how we behave. Pinker makes no simllistic assertions here: genes play games and the emerging strategies express themselves as emotions, reflexes, biases, etc., all of which are susceptible of interaction with each other and the world, both physical and social.

Of all possible priors, assuming human behavior, cognition and psychology is biologically unbounded is at one extreme of an entire spectrum of possibilities. Pinker suggests the appeal of this idea might have grown out of horror for Nazi Germany and, indeed, nothing more explicitely emboddies disgusting human tendencies than Nazism. You want to flee far from that -- and the blank slate is as far as you can conceptually flee.

It is a great read for anyone interested in human behavior, though it curiously seems political in this day and age.

As far as I can tell, knowing how we behave is the best way to design successful solutions to our problems -- and Pinker once again puts his finger on a bleeding wound.

The nicest part about Pinker is that he leans relatively leftward, technically does study humanities and social sciences and is a college professor: it is hard to paint him genuinely in a bad light as he is commenting about his own circles.

It is a great read, even if you aren't interested in the problems that emerged recently on college campuses. How he ties biology to behavior is a very good and rather simple summary of scientific research. He also takes the time to explain the details of how we reach conclusions, so you get to understand the most important aspect of science: which questions to ask.

2 people found this helpful

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Pinker is an intellectual Perseus.

Pinker is a modern day intellectual Perseus.

Not only is Pinker a strong writer; clear, concise and probing, he is masterful at the utilization of history to build strong and intriguing premises.

His breadth of knowledge of the world, philosophy and science, and his fascination with other important subjects outside of his main discipline make for a colorful and harrowing journey through time.

A wonderful reading of a true intellectual renaissance man.

In today's culture of extremes and group-think this book is a true beacon of light.

1 person found this helpful

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Classic

Many mistakes are avoidable with a coherent understanding of human nature. This book is a must-read.

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Thorough

Very thoroughly researched and written book. The subject matter of the book is basically in line with the type of insight/revelation/epiphany that one is likely to experience during a psychedelic trip. It's about some universal truths in the "nature of things" that can be easily felt on an intuitive level yet difficult to explain articulately. This book puts it all together in a succinct format. I don't imagine this is the type of book designed to change anyone's mind, but rather help you explain your position more accurately when you encounter people with silly beliefs about what we can change in our world.

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used to love it but feels dated

2nd time going through this one. really enjoyed it when it came out. now I feel it to be a dated shot fired in the culture wars saga. When data is used its used well but after an anecdote or personal opinion your back to the same ol straw men and personal assumptions. its mostly just an opinion piece fortified by the odd study here and there to bolster it. many big claims not enough evidence.

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The current state of,… History, and Future, of Human Behavior - Explained!!! 🤯

While I am normally full of all sorts of remarks and unique anecdotes… Writing this review has perplexed me for the last hour – how to describe this book…? Words simply do not do justice to, nor can they describe, the importance and the impact of, the hidden truths so eloquently researched and described in this book. Not knowing this information will be perilous to your own personal, as well as your family genetics, survival... 😱

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Couldn't finish it

I've read other books by Steven Pinker but I've thoroughly enjoyed, such as The Language Instinct and The Better Angels of Iur Nature but I couldn't get through this one. I just didn't find it interesting.

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Very insightfult

This book provided a lot of unexpected ideas backed up by research data.

Listening to this recording made me feel calmer, more comfortable and honest about being myself: a mortal, scared, imperfect, doubtful and skeptical human being. In some cases I could say that a veil was lifted from my eyes, and I could see the world around me clearly.

Some thoughts and feelings that were lingering in the back for of my mind for years suddenly found nice and eloquent expression on the pages of this book.

#Audible1

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  • ejf211
  • 2010-03-31

Don't bother. Outdated science & poor logic...

This book is an emotionally charged mess. It was also published in 2002 and has become obsolete by new findings in neuroscience. Don't even bother.

Its hostile angry tone, a juvenile use of belittling language, and a full array of annoying logic that runs in circles would be enough to cause frustration. When you add to that a continuous misunderstanding of the latest findings of science and the arrogance to divine the future of science as well, it becomes unbearable.

Also, the book is about the classic "nature vs nurture" argument and he spends the majority of the time fighting and belittling an extreme "Nurture" stance that no one believes in anyway. This stance makes his arguments out of touch with the reader, who is left asking him to move on. But Steven is stuck. It feels like someone with an emotional grudge, always making one more point, and misinterpreting the other side at every turn. The number of straw man fallacies and other spin tactics that are present here are simply too many to count.

60 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Robert
  • 2009-12-29

The Blank Slate

I sometimes find a book that is so eloquently written, I enjoy reading it even if the concepts are too far beyond me to fully comprehend what the words are trying to tell me. This could be that kind of book except that also it is so clearly written, I may actually understand what the author was trying to convey. It is one thing to be a language expert and quite another to be a great author. I think that this book proves Pinker to be both.

56 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • C. J. Hamilton
  • 2010-04-14

Instant classic

The intellectual vigour demonstrated by Pinker is amazing. He spans a field so wide that most other would have problems keeping any depth, but not here.

Pinker deals with many of the most fundamental philosophical and political issues both with attention to detail and a constant reference to the whole.

It is a tough listen, and I found myself repeatedly rewind and listen to chapters again, to make sure I got it all. I have also bought the paper version, as it is easier to use for quick referencing.

Possibly the book could have been shorter. A version 1/3 of the length would catch most of the argument but with fewer examples, and that would probably suffice for most readers.

As an academic, Pinker is a true inspiration for me to get out of bed earlier, work harder, and examine my subjects more carefully. He truly sets a standard of his own in this field.

54 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Steve
  • 2010-05-27

One of the most important books our time !

I give this audio book my HIGHEST recommendation! The material is erudite and intellectually difficult at times, but I challenge you to listen to this book (possibly over-and-over again) and see if it doesn't open your mind to a whole new way of observing and UNDERSTANDING yourself and the world (people) around you.

I read "The Blank Slate" several years ago when it was first published and I was ELATED to now be able to enjoy it again in an unabridged audio format. This book is exceedingly important, as it gives one a very deep, new, understanding of human nature. Pinker is an amazing and rare intellectual power-house and is able to bring together the works of various scholars in myriad scientific disciplines and weave all this information together into a logical, cohesive and comprehensive perspective on human nature.

Pinker's book is made even more engaging and enjoyable by Audible's production quality and most notably, by their choice of Victor Bevine as this book's narrator. Bevine is simply the perfect narrator for this material! The timbre of his voice, along with his cadence, diction and pronunciations are nearly flawless!
I now only wish Bevine had also narrated Pinker's other book on Audible - "The Stuff of Thoughts" :-(

My only tiny complaint with this book has always been that its title is completely inappropriate and misleading. This book is not defending the theory of the "blank slate" nor is it a "modern denial of human nature"; Its subject and goal are EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE!

To me, giving the book such a misleading title is at the least, a matter of very poor judgment and at its worst, is under-handed and a bit smarmy. Even so; forget this book's misleading title, and just dive into and thoroughly enjoy one of the most important scientific books of our time!

48 people found this helpful

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  • Carolyn
  • 2014-05-30

Excellent, as expected

I bought this as an audiobook so I would actually have time to read it - my husband read it several years ago and has been encouraging me to do so as well ever since, but although it's sitting on our bookshelf it never actually got read. Since I read Pinker's Better Angels of Our Nature by listening to the audiobook (and loved it), I thought I'd try the same with The Blank Slate.

I found reading this book to be a little like reading The Selfish Gene (which I did read in print), since, like that book, The Blank Slate was written to eliminate the residual shown-to-be-incorrect theories that were preventing good research from being done and/or being accepted in the author's field - in Dawkins' case, biology, and in Pinker's, social science. So, if you have some background in social science, this book won't contain too many surprises for you, but it is a great demonstration about just how much we know - even over a decade ago when the book was written - about nature versus nurture and how large a role nature plays.

This is a very accessible book for anyone, since it doesn't talk down to the reader (a pet peeve of mine) but it does describe things well in plain language and doesn't use jargon without explaining it first. I'm having a baby in a little over a month and it was good to read this book because it reminds parents that they cannot shape much of their children's personalities (except by giving them genes) and that being a good parent is enough - don't let marketers or "experts" fool you into thinking you have to be supermom or superdad to have a happy, smart, well-adjusted kid. You can teach your kid skills, like reading, but you can't change innate things about them like how extroverted they are.

Overall, I enjoyed the content and I found the narration easy to listen to. Five stars all around.

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Frank
  • 2011-02-25

Great book from an amazing polymath author

The scope of this book is extremely wide but centered on how the Blank Slate (i.e., the concept that babies have no innate traits and are totally shaped by environment, especially homelife) has permeated our views of many issues, despite being thoroughly discredited by scientific research.

Dr. Pinker examines such varied phenomena as pay disparities between men and women, the decline of popular interest in art, the effect of parenting styles on childhood development, why violence is related to the concept of honor for inner city youth and the Mafia, and many other topics. In each case, he approaches each issue logically but often in a way that is at first counter-intuitive.

His main point is that we need to reject the dogma of the Blank Slate to get at truth. He also examines how those who reject this dogma can be excoriated by the narrow-minded intellectual elite who wish to promote a scientifically unfounded utopian political agenda.

I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in this subject. I cannot remember being more influenced by a book I have read.

37 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Mary
  • 2010-08-12

Pinker is no thinker

If there is any justification to the dustjacket claim Pinker is one of the world's 100 most influential thinkers, it is based on his talk show appearances, not his standing among peers. His basic thesis is that recent scientific discoveries have proven social conservatives right about the need for military buildup, a get-tough approach to crime, strict parenting, etc. Affirmative action is a waste of time because it tries to change behaviour that is hard wired into our genes. America and the other countries most like it are the pinnacle of human evolution, because, well, evolution has produced them and therefore they must be a true expression of the unchangeable programming carried in our genes. No wonder Time put him on its cover.

32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Scott
  • 2010-04-15

Excellent read on Human Nature

This is a long book, but Victor Bevine's narration is excellent and keeps it from getting boring even as the author covers topics that did not interest me. For someone interested in learning about human nature and how it applies to our society, this is a great read.

26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Jim Lloyd
  • 2011-03-05

Excellent book, mixed reading

The book is superb. The other reviews criticizing the science presented by Pinker sound like sour grapes to me. Yes, Pinker is sharply critical of some scientists that were were committed to the idealogy of the blank slate. The examples cited are cases where these scientists used political methods to slander the work of the other scientist who were succeeding in disproving the idealogy. Pinker presented the works and actions of these scientists and showed them to be absurd. This happens several times throughout the book, but the book is full of positive science that has improved my understanding of many facets of human nature.

The reading is mixed. For the most part, I like Bevine's voice and feel it fits well the intellectual nature of the book. But there are times I think Bevine put too much scorn in his intonation, making Pinker's objective criticisms take on a subjective tone, which I think is a disservice.

22 people found this helpful

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  • Gary
  • 2012-05-21

Once again a Pinker book changed my world view.

The book really opened my eyes about how we learn and become who we are. I had previously just accepted the various interruptions of the the noble savage, the ghost in the machine and the blank slate. Pinker demolishes and demonstrates why those interruptions are misleading, and you will realize why Pinker is called one of the only linguists who can write in prose.

13 people found this helpful