Steven Pinker
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Has the Decline of Violence Reversed Since the Better Angels of Our Nature Was Written?
Has the Decline of Violence Reversed since The Better Angels of Our Nature was Written? Steven Pinker Many journalists, citing recent violence in Syria, Iraq, Gaza, and Ukraine, have asked me whether the decline of violence has gone into reverse since The Better Angels of Our Nature was written. The question betrays the same statistical misconceptions that led me to write Better Angels in the first place. People always think that violence has increased because they reason from memorable examples rather than from global data. If at any time you cherry-pick the most violent place in the world, then you’ll discover that yes, it’s violent. That has nothing to do with overall rates or trends in violence. The basic problem is that journalism is a systematically misleading way to understand the world. News is about things that happen, not about things that don’t happen. You never see a reporter standing on the streets of Angola, Sri Lanka, or Vietnam saying “I’m here reporting that a war has not broken out today.” It’s only by looking at data on the world as a whole that you get an accurate picture of the trends. Objectively, there has indeed been an uptick in war deaths in 2013 compared to 2012 (it’s too early to have data for 2014), mostly due to the war in Syria. But the overall level of deaths is still far below those of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, when the world was a far more dangerous place. Even putting aside the obvious examples (such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 3- million-death war in Vietnam), one sees that the conflicts of today are far less damaging than those of past decades. -
Understanding Fragmentation in Conflict and Its Impact on Prospects for Peace
oslo FORUM papers N°006 - December 2016 Understanding fragmentation in conflict and its impact on prospects for peace Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham www.hd centre.org – www.osloforum.org Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue 114, Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva | Switzerland t : +41 22 908 11 30 f : +41 22 908 11 40 [email protected] www.hdcentre.org Oslo Forum www.osloforum.org The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) is a private diplo- macy organisation founded on the principles of humanity, impartiality and independence. Its mission is to help pre- vent, mitigate, and resolve armed conflict through dialogue and mediation. © 2016 – Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue Reproduction of all or part of this publication may be author- ised only with written consent and acknowledgment of the source. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham Associate Professor at the Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland [email protected] http://www.kathleengallaghercunningham.com Table of contents INTRODUCTION 2 1. WHAT IS FRAGMENTATION? 3 Fragmented actors 3 Multiple actors 3 Identifying fragmentation 4 New trends 4 The causes of fragmentation 5 2. THE CONSEQUENCES OF FRAGMENTATION FOR CONFLICT 7 Violence 7 Accommodation and war termination 7 Side switching 8 3. HOW PEACE PROCESSES AFFECT FRAGMENTATION 9 Coalescing 9 Intentional fragmentation 9 Unintentional fragmentation 9 Mediation 10 4. RESPONSES OF MEDIATORS AND OTHER THIRD-PARTY ACTORS TO FRAGMENTATION 11 Negotiations including all armed groups 11 Sequential negotiations 11 Inclusion of unarmed actors and national dialogue 12 Efforts to coalesce the opposition 13 5. AFTER SETTLEMENT 14 CONCLUSION 15 ENDNOTES 16 2 The Oslo Forum Papers | Understanding fragmentation in conflict Introduction Complicated conflicts with many disparate actors have cators of fragmentation, new trends, and a summation of why become increasingly common in the international system. -
Preserving the Long Peace in Asia the Institutional Building Blocks of Long-Term Regional Security
REPORT Preserving the Long Peace in Asia The Institutional Building Blocks of Long-Term Regional Security Independent Commission on Regional Security Architecture Preserving the Long Peace in Asia The Institutional Building Blocks of Long-Term Regional Security SEPTEMBER 2017 A REPORT OF THE ASIA SOCIETY POLICY INSTITUTE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE With a solution-oriented mandate, the Asia Society Policy Institute tackles major policy challenges confronting the Asia-Pacific in security, prosperity, sustainability, and the development of common norms and values for the region. The Asia Society Policy Institute is a think- and do-tank designed to bring forth policy ideas that incorporate the best thinking from top experts in Asia and to work with policy makers to integrate these ideas and put them into practice. ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE This report represents a consensus view of the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Independent Commission on Regional Security Architecture. By serving as signatories to the report, Commissioners have signaled their endorsement of the major findings and recommendations in the document. Commissioners were not, however, expected to concur with every statement in the report. Members of the Commission participated in this study in their personal capacity, and their endorsement does not reflect any official position of the organizations with which they are affiliated. Commission members are: CHAIR Kevin Rudd, President of the Asia Society Policy -
Balanced Biosocial Theory for the Social Sciences
UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2004 Balanced biosocial theory for the social sciences Michael A Restivo University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Restivo, Michael A, "Balanced biosocial theory for the social sciences" (2004). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 1635. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/5jp5-vy39 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BALANCED BIOSOCIAL THEORY FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES by Michael A. Restivo Bachelor of Arts IPIoridkijSjlarrhcIJiuAHsrsity 2001 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillm ent ofdœnxpnnnnenkfbrthe Master of Arts Degree in Sociology Departm ent of Sociology College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas M ay 2004 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1422154 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. -
Throughout His Career, Whether Studying Language
Throughout his career, whether studying language, advocating a realistic biology of mind, or examining the human condition through the lens of humanistic Enlightenment ideas, psychologist Steven Pinker has embraced and championed a naturalistic understanding of the universe and the computational theory of mind. He is perhaps the first internationally recognized public intellectual whose recognition is based on the advocacy of empirically based thinking about language, mind, and human nature. “Just as Darwin made it possible for a thoughtful observer of the natural world to do without creationism,” he says, “Turing and others made it possible for a thoughtful observer of the cognitive world to do without spiritualism.” In the debate about AI risk, he argues against prophecies of doom and gloom, noting that they spring from the worst of our psychological biases—exemplified particularly by media reports: “Disaster scenarios are cheap to play out in the probability-free zone of our imaginations, and they can always find a worried, technophobic, or morbidly fascinated audience.” Hence, over the centuries: Pandora, Faust, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Frankenstein, the population bomb, resource depletion, HAL, suitcase nukes, the Y2K bug, and engulfment by nanotechnological grey goo. “A characteristic of AI dystopias,” he points out, “is that they project a parochial alpha-male psychology onto the concept of intelligence. History does turn up the occasional megalomaniacal despot or psychopathic serial killer, but these are products of a history of natural selection shaping testosterone-sensitive circuits in a certain species of primate, not an inevitable feature of intelligent systems.” In the present essay, he applauds Wiener’s belief in the strength of ideas vis-à-vis the encroachment of technology. -
Richard Dawkins
RICHARD DAWKINS HOW A SCIENTIST CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK Reflections by scientists, writers, and philosophers Edited by ALAN GRAFEN AND MARK RIDLEY 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Oxford University Press 2006 with the exception of To Rise Above © Marek Kohn 2006 and Every Indication of Inadvertent Solicitude © Philip Pullman 2006 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should -
A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music's Origin a Thesis Presented
A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music’s Origin A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Kevin W. Kondik March 2010 © 2010 Kevin W. Kondik. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music’s Origin by KEVIN W. KONDIK has been approved for the Department of Philosophy and the College of Arts and Sciences by Arthur Zucker Associate Professor of Philosophy Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT KONDIK, KEVIN, W.,, M.A., March 2010, Philosophy A Critical Review of Three Theories for Music’s Origin (82 pp.) Director of Thesis: Arthur Zucker This thesis compares three theories which debate whether or not the trait of music is constitutive of a biological adaptation. Steven Pinker advances a view that music cannot be an adaptation because making or responding to music utilizes faculties which evolved for other reasons. On the next view, Geoffrey Miller claims that music is a sexually selected trait which evolved primarily to seduce potential mates. Finally, Ian Cross argues that music can be seen as an extension of juvenile behaviors into adulthood and has efficacy in the consolidation of bonds within a group. I conclude that all three theories are insufficient as an explanation of why music evolved in the hominid lineage. The main reasons why these theories all fail is they all rely upon a speculative historical reconstructions and imprecise definitions of music. -
Colloquy Issue 1
peace colloquy The Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies University of Notre Dame Issue No. 1, Spring 2002 Peacekeeping: Defining Success A NTHONY L AKE The Fundamentalist Factor S COTT A PPLEBY Economic Causes of Civil Wars P AUL C OLLIER peace colloquy 2 From the Editor s anyone who has visited the Kroc Institute can attest, the place is abuzz with discussions of peace. This dialogue emerges in part from the diverse array of people who cross paths at the Kroc Institute. At the heart of the conversation are scholars in a variety of fields, both at Notre Dame and other institutions. Through analyses of cultural, political, religious, and ethical Adimensions of current international conflicts, they provoke new insights into the meaning and prospects for peace. Peacebuilding practitioners working on the ground around the world, including many of our students and alumni, bring another set of questions to the discussion. These voices challenge us to think concretely about how peace can be fostered through conflict resolution, human rights, human development, refugee assistance, and other peacebuilding programs. The Institute also has contacts with international policymakers at the UN, State Department, World Bank, and other institutions, who direct our attention to the need for more equitable and effective global strategies for peace. By bringing together these and many other voices, the Kroc Institute has become the focal point for an engag- ing colloquy — or “serious discussion” — on peace. As its name suggests, each issue of peace colloquy seeks to highlight important contributions to this ongoing dialogue through feature articles by faculty, visiting lecturers, and alumni. -
Biological Pluralism in Service of Biolinguistics
Biological pluralism in service of biolinguistics Pedro Tiago Martins1, Evelina Leivada2, Antonio Ben´ıtez-Burraco3, and Cedric Boeckx2,4 1Pompeu Fabra University 2University of Barcelona 3University of Huelva 4Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies Abstract The aim of this chapter is to offer a fresh perspective on what has come to be known as biolinguistics, a term which, in our view, encompasses all research and methods devoted to the unveiling of the biological foundations of human language. More specifically, our aim is twofold: first, we point out some of the shortcomings of the naive view of biology that has been in place in linguistics since the 1950s and 1960s, namely the notion of the faculty of language as a novelty and the sharp distinction between I- and E-language, which, we contend, has not provided any major insights into the biological nature of language; second, we offer some of the insights from biology, which may provide the theoretical and methodological framework which allows for a truly biological study of language, and thus for a re-hauled biolinguistics Chomsky (1957). 1 Introduction The first sign of a biological orientation for the study of language was the work of Noam Chomsky and Eric Lenneberg, among just a few others, who in the 1950s and 1960s rejected the structuralist linguistics of the time, believing instead that languages, despite meticulously described, were not explained as a natural phenomenon. The overarching assumption of their work is that 1 languages are not learned in the conventional sense of the term (i.e. the way one would learn a craft or how to play a musical instrument), but rather a product of a biologically determined and biologically constrained capacity of humans, located in the brain, which must be innate. -
Globalization and the Diffusion of Military Capabilities
GLOBALIZATION AND THE DIFFUSION OF MILITARY CAPABILITIES by Eddie Stokes A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science Boise State University December 2019 © 2019 Eddie Stokes ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COLLEGE DEFENSE COMMITTEE AND FINAL READING APPROVALS of the thesis submitted by Eddie Stokes Thesis Title: Globalization and the Diffusion of Military Capabilities Date of Final Oral Examination: 07 October 2019 The following individuals read and discussed the thesis submitted by student Eddie Stokes, and they evaluated their presentation and response to questions during the final oral examination. They found that the student passed the final oral examination. Michael A. Allen, Ph.D. Chair, Supervisory Committee Ross Burkhart, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee Stephen Utych, Ph.D. Member, Supervisory Committee The final reading approval of the thesis was granted by Michael A. Allen, Ph.D., Chair of the Supervisory Committee. The thesis was approved by the Graduate College. DEDICATION To my parents Ed and Tracey Stokes, none of this would have been possible if not for your endless emotional, intellectual, and financial support. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my parents, Ed and Tracey Stokes, for their immense support over the course of this long process. I would next like to thank Dr. Michael A. Allen for his patience in helping me navigate the intricacies associated with writing this thesis. My sincere thanks also go to Dr. Stephen Utych and Dr. Ross Burkhart, who were so kind as to always find time in their busy schedules to meet with me and help me work through rigorous theoretical and analytical problems. -
The Language Instinct Steven Pinker June 18
The Language Instinct Steven Pinker June 18 - June 26, 2004 Mans uniqeuness in the universe has during recent history suffered many setbacks, the latest of them being the contention that not even his language ability sets him apart from his biological cousins - the Apes. Pinker easily debunks such claims as so much media- hype and wishful thinking. Clearly if the apes would have the potential for language, they would have discovered it and exploited it for their own purposes a long time ago. In fact in actual experiments deaf observers noted far fewer incidents of true handsigning then the more guillable normal-hearers, who charitably tended to interpret any movement of the hands as imbued with intentional symbolism. True, apes do communicate with each other, by sound as well as signs in the wild, but the purported incidents of language use, were invariably repetitive and shallow, no match to the sophistication of toddlers. Man learns to walk and talk without any explict instruction. So remarkable and so universal is the effortlessness of the acquisition that it is natural to consider it as instinctive. When it comes to locomotion such claims are uncontroversial, while when loquaciousness is concerned it is more disputable. Pinker presents as evidence for an innate language ability the phenomena of pidgin and creole. When people are thrown together with no common language, a pidgin inevitably emerges. This is a primitive and provisional language, using tidbits of vocabulary from ambient tongues pasted together using a rudimentary make- shift syntax. Young children exposed to pidgin instinctively make a real language out of it, imposing syntactic rules and thus rendering it expressive. -
2017 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize Recipient Prof. Paul Bloom
2017 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize Recipient Prof. Paul Bloom Paul Bloom (Canadian and American, born 1963) is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale University. He was born in Montreal, Canada, and was an undergraduate at McGill University, working with John Macnamara. He did his doctoral work at MIT with Susan Carey and Steven Pinker. He has published in scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and in popular outlets such as The New York Times and The New Yorker. He is the co-editor of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and the author of several books. Scientific work His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on morality, religion, fiction, and art. Much of his research explores moral psychology—looking at morality in babies, developing intuitions about moral responsibility, and the role that feelings such as disgust and empathy play in our moral lives. Bloom argues that humans are in fact born with an innate sense of morality. Drawing on his research at the Infant Cognition Center at Yale University, in collaboration with his colleague and wife, Karen Wynn, he demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others’ actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice. In one of Bloom’s first studies of moral evaluation, he used a three-dimensional display in which real geometrical objects, manipulated like puppets, acted out helping/hindering situations—for instance, a yellow square would help a blue circle up the hill; a red triangle would push it down.