The Better Angels of Our Nature - Why Violence has Declined

Zusatztext “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) A Mark Zuckerberg "Year of Books" Pick "My favorite book of the last decade is [Steven] Pinker's Better Angels of Our Nature . It is a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time."—Bill Gates! founder of Microsoft "For anyone interested in human nature! the material is engrossing! and when the going gets heavy! Pinker knows how to lighten it with ironic comments and a touch of humor. . . . A supremely important book. To have command of so much research! spread across so many different fields! is a masterly achievement."—The New York Times Book Review "An extraordinary range of research . . . a masterly effort."— The Wall Street Journal " Better Angels is a monumental achievement. His book should make it much harder for pessimists to cling to their gloomy vision of the future. Whether war is an ancient adaptation or a pernicious cultural infection! we are learning how to overcome it."— Slate Praise for THE STUFF OF THOUGHT “The majesty of Pinker’s theories is only one side of the story.  The other side is the modesty of how he built them.  It all makes sense! when you look at it the right way.” —   The New York Times Book Review “Packed with information! clear! witty! attractively written."— The New York Review of Books “Engaging and witty …Everyone with an interest in language and how it gets to be how it is—that is! everyone interested in how we get to be human and do our human business—should read THE STUFF OF THOUGHT.”— Science Praise for THE BLANK SLATE “An extremely good book—clear! well argued! fair! learned! tough! witty! humane! stimulating.”— Colin McGinn! The Washington Post “Sweeping! erudite! sharply argued! and fun to read…also highly persuasive.”— Time Informationen zum Autor 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. Klappentext "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)A provocative history of violence-from the New York Times bestselling author of The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate, and Enlightenment Now. Believe it or not, today we may be living in the most peaceful moment in our species' existence. In his gripping and controversial new work, New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows that despite the ceaseless news about war, crime, and terrorism, violence has actually been in decline over long stretches of history. Exploding myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly enlightened world. PREFACE This book is about what may be the most important thing that has ever happened in human history. Believe it or not—and I know that most people do not—violence has declined over long stretches of time, and today we may be living in the most peaceable era in our species’ existence. The decline, to be sure, has not been smooth; it has not brought violence down to zero; and it is not guaranteed to continue. But it is an unmistakable development, visible on scales from millennia to years, from the waging of wars to the spanking of children. No aspect of life is untouched by the retreat from violence. Daily exi...

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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)

A Mark Zuckerberg "Year of Books" Pick

"My favorite book of the last decade is [Steven] Pinker's Better Angels of Our Nature. It is a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time." Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft

"For anyone interested in human nature, the material is engrossing, and when the going gets heavy, Pinker knows how to lighten it with ironic comments and a touch of humor. . . . A supremely important book. To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is a masterly achievement." The New York Times Book Review

"An extraordinary range of research . . . a masterly effort." The Wall Street Journal

"Better Angels is a monumental achievement. His book should make it much harder for pessimists to cling to their gloomy vision of the future. Whether war is an ancient adaptation or a pernicious cultural infection, we are learning how to overcome it." Slate

Praise for THE STUFF OF THOUGHT
The majesty of Pinker s theories is only one side of the story.  The other side is the modesty of how he built them.  It all makes sense, when you look at it the right way.  The New York Times Book Review
Packed with information, clear, witty, attractively written." The New York Review of Books

Engaging and witty Everyone with an interest in language and how it gets to be how it is that is, everyone interested in how we get to be human and do our human business should read THE STUFF OF THOUGHT. Science

Praise for THE BLANK SLATE

An extremely good book clear, well argued, fair, learned, tough, witty, humane, stimulating. Colin McGinn, The Washington Post

Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read also highly persuasive. Time

Product details

• Authors: Steven Pinker
• Publisher: Penguin Books USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.09.2012
• EAN: 9780143122012
• ISBN: 978-0-14-312201-2
• No. of pages: 832
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 228 mm x 40 mm
• Subjects: Guides > Health; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Applied psychology