The Better Angels of Our Nature
Also known as The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
Steven Pinker's 2011 argument that violence has declined over history, and why.
At a glance
Key ideas
Six trends, Five inner demons, Four better angels …
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Steven Pinker, Peter Singer and 2 others
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- Pinker presents data that violence has fallen in war, homicide, genocide, torture and the treatment of children and minorities.
- He argues the present is probably the most peaceful time in the species' history.
- He does not credit a change in human biology, but changes in culture and material life that favour peaceable motives.
- He stresses the decline has not been smooth and is not guaranteed to continue.
Why it matters
- Praised by Peter Singer and Bill Gates and challenged by statisticians, Nassim Taleb first among them; its claims about war remain disputed.
Key facts
- Author
- Steven Pinker1
- Published
- 20111
- Title
- From the end of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address1
- Awards
- New York Times Notable Book of 2011; shortlisted for the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize and Royal Society Winton Prize1
Key ideas
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Six trends1
The Pacification Process, the Civilizing Process, the Humanitarian Revolution, the Long Peace, the New Peace and the Rights Revolutions.
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Five inner demons1
Violence comes from separate systems: predatory violence, dominance, revenge, sadism and ideology, not one built-up urge.
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Four better angels1
Empathy, self-control, the moral sense and reason incline people away from violence.
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Five historical forces1
The Leviathan state, commerce, feminization, cosmopolitanism and the 'escalator of reason' drove the declines.
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Perception lags the data1
People's impression of violence has not tracked its decline.
Connections
Links
Sources
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