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Steven Pinker

Also known as: Steven Pinker, Pinker

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Steven Pinker is a prominent cognitive and evolutionary psychologist who has made significant contributions to discussions on consciousness, language acquisition, evolutionary psychology, and the historical decline of violence. He praised philosopher David Chalmers for argumentative rigor and clarity on the hard problem of consciousness (Wikipedia) and described Chalmers' book *The Conscious Mind* as an outstanding contribution (Oxford University Press; David Chalmers). Pinker criticized consciousness explanations invoking quantum physics as misguided (Wikipedia), echoing sentiments later shared by Stephen Hawking (Wikipedia), and in 2018 agreed with Daniel Dennett that the hard problem is not scientifically meaningful despite its conceptual interest (Wikipedia). He endorses weaker new mysterianism due to brain limits (Wikipedia) and deems the 'easy problems' solvable with resources (Wikipedia). In evolutionary psychology, Pinker co-authored on the cognitive niche (Frontiers) and published a paper on its coevolution with intelligence and language (Frontiers). His books like *The Blank Slate* (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and *How the Mind Works* (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) introduce these ideas accessibly, emphasizing modular minds (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and evolutionary hypotheses over single theories (Wikipedia). Pinker argues language is innate (Wikipedia), an adaptation akin to organs with Paul Bloom (Wikipedia), though criticized by W. Tecumseh Fitch as misleading (Wikipedia). On violence, he posits state institutions reduced it dramatically (Wikipedia) and non-state societies relied on honor-based deterrence (Wikipedia). Pinker connects to figures like Chalmers, Bloom, Dennett, Fitch, and researchers including Tooby and Cosmides, influencing debates via books, TED talks (Wikipedia), and articles like his 2007 Time piece (Wikipedia).

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Steven Pinker is a prominent cognitive and evolutionary psychologist who has made significant contributions to discussions on consciousness, language acquisition, evolutionary psychology, and the historical decline of violence. He praised philosopher David Chalmers for argumentative rigor and clarity on the hard problem of consciousness (Wikipedia) and described Chalmers' book *The Conscious Mind* as an outstanding contribution (Oxford University Press; David Chalmers). Pinker criticized consciousness explanations invoking quantum physics as misguided (Wikipedia), echoing sentiments later shared by Stephen Hawking (Wikipedia), and in 2018 agreed with Daniel Dennett that the hard problem is not scientifically meaningful despite its conceptual interest (Wikipedia). He endorses weaker new mysterianism due to brain limits (Wikipedia) and deems the 'easy problems' solvable with resources (Wikipedia). In evolutionary psychology, Pinker co-authored on the cognitive niche (Frontiers) and published a paper on its coevolution with intelligence and language (Frontiers). His books like *The Blank Slate* (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and *How the Mind Works* (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) introduce these ideas accessibly, emphasizing modular minds (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and evolutionary hypotheses over single theories (Wikipedia). Pinker argues language is innate (Wikipedia), an adaptation akin to organs with Paul Bloom (Wikipedia), though criticized by W. Tecumseh Fitch as misleading (Wikipedia). On violence, he posits state institutions reduced it dramatically (Wikipedia) and non-state societies relied on honor-based deterrence (Wikipedia). Pinker connects to figures like Chalmers, Bloom, Dennett, Fitch, and researchers including Tooby and Cosmides, influencing debates via books, TED talks (Wikipedia), and articles like his 2007 Time piece (Wikipedia).
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Evolutionary psychology - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia 9 facts
claimSteven Pinker argues that the universal human ability to learn to talk between the ages of 1 and 4, without explicit training, suggests that language acquisition is a distinctly human psychological adaptation.
perspectiveW. Tecumseh Fitch criticizes certain strands of evolutionary psychology for promoting a pan-adaptationist view of evolution and considers the question posed by Steven Pinker and Paul Bloom regarding whether language evolved as an adaptation to be misleading.
claimSteven Pinker argues that the fact that children can learn any human language without explicit instruction suggests that language, including most of grammar, is innate and requires only interaction to be activated.
perspectiveSteven Pinker argues that the development of the state and the police has dramatically reduced the level of violence compared to the ancestral environment.
perspectiveSteven Pinker argues in his book 'The Better Angels of Our Nature' that in non-state societies, humans developed instincts for revenge and protecting reputation ('honor') as a credible deterrence against aggression.
referenceSteven Pinker authored 'The blank slate: the modern denial of human nature' in 2002, which addresses the concept of human nature.
claimSteven Pinker describes evolutionary psychology not as a single theory, but as a large set of hypotheses and a specific way of applying evolutionary theory to the mind, emphasizing adaptation, gene-level selection, and modularity.
referenceEvolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker delivered a TED talk regarding his book, "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature."
claimSteven Pinker and Paul Bloom argue that language, as a mental faculty, shares many likenesses with complex bodily organs, suggesting that language evolved as an adaptation because that is the only known mechanism by which such complex organs can develop.
Hard problem of consciousness - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia 6 facts
claimPhilosophers David Lewis and Steven Pinker have praised David Chalmers for his argumentative rigour and "impeccable clarity" regarding the hard problem of consciousness.
perspectiveSteven Pinker endorses the weaker version of new mysterianism, which posits that the human inability to solve the Hard Problem is a result of evolutionary limitations on the human brain.
referenceSteven Pinker discusses the hard problem of consciousness in his 2018 book 'Enlightenment Now'.
perspectiveCognitive psychologist Steven Pinker states that the 'easy problems' are 'about as easy as going to Mars or curing cancer,' meaning scientists generally know what to look for and could likely solve them in this century with sufficient brainpower and funding.
referenceSteven Pinker wrote 'The Brain: The Mystery of Consciousness' in Time magazine on 29 January 2007.
perspectiveIn 2018, Steven Pinker stated that while he considers the hard problem of consciousness a meaningful conceptual problem, he agrees with Daniel Dennett that it is not a meaningful scientific problem.
John Bowlby's Attachment Theory - Simply Psychology simplypsychology.org Simply Psychology Apr 20, 2025 3 facts
claimJudith Rich Harris (1998) and Steven Pinker (2002) have argued that peers, social contexts, and culture can be as influential as parent-child bonds in shaping a person's personality.
claimJudith Rich Harris (1998) and Steven Pinker (2002) have argued that peers, social contexts, and culture can be as influential as parent-child bonds in shaping a person's personality.
claimSteven Pinker (2002) argued against the concept of the 'blank slate' in human nature.
Evolutionary Psychology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 3 facts
referenceSteven Pinker's book 'The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature' (2002) provides an accessible introduction to the ideas of evolutionary psychology.
quoteSteven Pinker states that the mind is organized into modules or mental organs, each with a specialized design that makes it an expert in one area of interaction with the world.
referenceSteven Pinker's book 'How the Mind Works' (1997) provides an accessible introduction to evolutionary psychology and cognitive science.
Panpsychism - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia 2 facts
quoteIn 2007, Steven Pinker criticized explanations of consciousness invoking quantum physics, stating: "to my ear, this amounts to the feeling that quantum mechanics sure is weird, and consciousness sure is weird, so maybe quantum mechanics can explain consciousness".
claimPhysicist Stephen Hawking echoed Steven Pinker's 2007 criticism of explanations of consciousness that invoke quantum physics.
Psychedelics, Sociality, and Human Evolution frontiersin.org Frontiers 2 facts
claimResearchers including Tooby, Devore, Cosmides, Barrett, Pinker, Bertolotti, and Magnani argue that humans evolved to specialize in a 'cognitive niche' to explain their unique zoological features.
referenceSteven Pinker (2010) published 'The cognitive niche: coevolution of intelligence, sociality, and language' in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exploring the evolutionary development of human cognitive traits.
The Conscious Mind - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org David Chalmers · Oxford University Press 1 fact
claimSteven Pinker described David Chalmers' book 'The Conscious Mind' as an 'outstanding contribution' to consciousness studies, noting that Chalmers argued his thesis 'with impeccable clarity and rigor.'