The Better Angels of Our Nature

Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true.

Zusatztext If I could give each of you a graduation present! it would be thisthe 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 isthat is! everyone interested in how we get to be human and do our human businessshould read THE STUFF OF THOUGHT. Science Praise for THE BLANK SLATE An extremely good bookclear! well argued! fair! learned! tough! witty! humane! stimulating. Colin McGinn! The Washington Post Sweeping! erudite! sharply argued! and fun to readalso highly persuasive. Time Informationen zum Autor Steven Pinker 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 notand I know that most people do notviolence 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 existence is very different if you always have to worry about being abducted, raped, or killed, and it's hard to develop sophisticated arts, learning, or commerce if the institutions that support them are looted and burned as quickly as they are built. The historical trajectory of violence affects...

“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

Autorentext

Steven Pinker

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.

Leseprobe

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 existence is very different if you always have to worry about being abducted, raped, or killed, and it’s hard to develop sophisticated arts, learning, or commerce if the institutions that support them are looted and burned as quickly as they are built.

The historical trajectory of v…