The Blank Slate

In the nonfiction book The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, a Harvard-educated experimental psychologist, draws from cutting-edge cognitive science to debunk popular ideas about the mind and human nature. Primarily, Pinker argues against the concept of the Blank Slate—that is, that the mind is a “blank slate”—showing instead that our brains come hardwired with universal attributes. He also discredits two related concepts, that of the Noble Savage (the idea that primitive humans were superior to and more peaceful than modern humans) and the Ghost in the Machine (the idea that the soul is separate from the body).

Pinker writes that people across different academic disciplines have buttressed the idea of the Blank Slate to ensure that we free ourselves from long-standing prejudices and create a more egalitarian society. This may be a worthy aim, but Pinker finds that cognitive science does not support the underlying premise. On the contrary, the science demonstrates that we are not all that different from one another and are united by certain universal qualities.

Pinker shows that we have innate intuitions and cognitive faculties. We are also loaded with certain genetic predispositions that create favoritism for kin over non-kin. And our human nature inclines us toward shared conceptions of morality. Yet it is possible to combat these hardwired traits. Pinker emphasizes that, by understanding our underlying nature, we can make conscious choices to avoid confusing gut reaction with careful decision-making.

In the final section of the book, Pinker explores five hot-button issues—politics, violence, gender, children, and the arts—from the perspective of cognitive science. He highlights how outdated today’s political ideas (from both the right and left) are in light of emerging science. He also explains that, while violence is a part of human design, so is the ability to address and prevent it. On the topic of gender, he declares that we can understand the differences between men and women as consistent with feminist thinking. And he addresses the fact that parents have little direct effect on the outcome of their offspring—while simultaneously arguing that parents have a moral duty to rear and nurture their children.

Overall, Pinker’s work explores what it means to be human and how our self-conception has moral, political, and societal implications.