3 Review(s)

In The Better Angels Of Our Nature, author Steven Pinker makes the striking claim that violence in our society at large has declined down the ages. His very argument contradicts the popularly held belief that modern times are more violent than any past period in time. Pinker interestingly observes that violence in the form of murder and wars have progressively declined with every passing year. His observations are based on careful analysis and debunking of long-held theories, such as those of the noble savage and the Hobbesian concept of a nasty, brutish and short life. The discussions range from art to religion, international trade to table manners. His observations are unique, since they justify the decline of violence not from an organizational or governmental perspective but show them through instances which make it evident that such changes are owing to the extraordinary evolution and progressive ideas of the human race. Pinker’s book is nominated for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books for 2012. Steven Arthur Pinker is a Professor of Psychology at the Harvard University. Among other things, he is an experimental psychologist and a popular science author. Graced by a number of awards, Pinker was awarded the Humanist of the Year award in 2006 by American Humanist Association. Among his other notable works are, The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language.