It seems that every time you open a newspaper or watch the nightly news, you you hear about a new tragedy, another symptom of an increasingly violent world. And yet, in the aftermath of many violent tragedies, there are no violent reprisals, no mobs out for vengeance. Instead there are candle-light vigils and memorial services. In his latest book, cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker explains that despite such acts of violence, we’re actually living in a period of extraordinary peace. Thanks to the spread of government, literacy, trade, and cosmopolitanism, Pinker says we’re largely abiding by the better angels of our nature, and he joins us Monday to make his case. (Rebroadcast)
GUEST
Steven Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. He conducts research on language and cognition, writes for publications such as the New York Times, Time and The New Republic, and is the author of eight books, including The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language [Amazon/Indiebound], The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature [Amazon/Indiebound], and most recently The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined [Amazon/Indiebound].
