That may sound ridiculous to you, what with the world wars of the 20th century and our increasing technological capabilities to wreak havoc in scales our predecessors couldn't have dreamed of, but Pinker is no dummy who argues in lazy generalizations, and he's got plenty of corroborating evidence to make his point.
More interestingly, perhaps, is why violence has declined over time, and if you're already familiar with Pinker's work, you know things are about to get interesting when he starts invoking philosophy, history, evolutionary psychology, economics, cognitive psychology, rational-decision theory and other fascinating disciplines. And as if that weren't stimulating enough, the lecture is followed by a discussion with Matt Ridley and some Q&A.
For more, check out the Steven Pinker tag.
Violence is down- no surprise there. The days of the wheel, Voltaire, Hobbes, Rousseau and Jean Calas have ended, and a more civilized society is in place, but i think the stage is set for a major change. The world is slowly falling apart, and we are seeing the first signs of it; from Libya to Greece, to Zucotti Park to Oakland, California.In a passive way, those "in charge" have caused untold damage by ruining the economy and the environment with their policies.When the proverbial shit hits the fan, will those whose job it is to protect us(military, police) side with the ones who caused the chaos, or turn their weapons against us? Pinker makes great points, but i think time will prove him wrong, and he will need to do a whole new power point presentation, or maybe i can do it.
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