Democracy is an imperfect way of steering between the violence of anarchy and the violence of tyranny, with the least violence you can get away with. Steven Pinker anarchydemocracyimperfect Change image and share on social
A decent government with an effective, but not gratuitously violent, police force and a fair court system are essential. This deters and incapacitates psychopaths, bullies and hotheads - and if it earns the confidence of the people, they don't have to become violent in self-defence. Steven Pinker bullyconfidencecourt share on social
Statisticians tell us that people underestimate the sheer number of coincidences that are bound to happen in a world governed by chance. Steven Pinker bindchancecoincidence Change image and share on social
My opinions about human nature are shared by many psychologists, linguists, and biologists, not to mention philosophers and scholars going back centuries. Steven Pinker backbiologistcentury Change image and share on social
Climate change could produce a lot of misery and waste without necessarily leading to large-scale armed conflict, which depends more on ideology and bad governance than on resource scarcity. Steven Pinker armbadchange Change image and share on social
Language is a window into human nature, but it is also a fistula, an open wound through which we're exposed to an infectious world. Steven Pinker exposefistulahuman Change image and share on social
Mother Teresa was the very embodiment of saintliness: white-clad, sad-eyed, ascetic and often photographed with the wretched of the earth. Steven Pinker asceticclotheearth Change image and share on social
Conventions are unstated agreements within a community to abide by a single way of doing things - not because there is any inherent advantage to the choice, but because there is an advantage to everyone making the same choice. Steven Pinker abideadvantageagreement share on social
Parents provide their children with genes as well as an environment, so the fact that talkative parents have kids with good language skills could simply mean that and that the same genes that make parents talkative make children articulate. Steven Pinker articulatechildenvironment share on social
Technology, ideology, and social and cultural changes periodically throw out new forms of violence for humanity to contend with. Steven Pinker contendculturalform Change image and share on social
