| The Better Angels of Our Nature | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Steven Pinker |
| Publisher | Viking Books |
| Publication date | 2011 |
| Pages | 832 |
| ISBN | 978-0670022953 |
| OCLC Number | 707969125 |
| Dewey Decimal | 303.609 PINKER |
| LC Classification | HM1116 .P57 2011 |
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined is a 2011 book by Steven Pinker arguing that violence in the world, especially the western part, has declined both in the long run and in the short. He also suggests explanations of why this has happened.[1]
The phrase "the better angels of our nature" stems from the last words of Lincoln's first inaugural address.
Contents |
Due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the book Pinker relies heavily on the works of political scientist John Mueller and sociologist Norbert Elias, among others. The extent of Elias' influence on Pinker can be adduced from the title of Chapter 3 of The Better Angels of Our Nature, which is taken from the title of Elias' seminal The Civilizing Process.[2]
Peter Singer positively reviewed The Better Angels of Our Nature in The New York Times.[3] Singer concludes: "[It] is a supremely important book. To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is a masterly achievement. Pinker convincingly demonstrates that there has been a dramatic decline in violence, and he is persuasive about the causes of that decline."[4]
John N. Gray gave a critical review of the book in Prospect.[5]
Elizabeth Kolbert wrote a critical review in The New Yorker,[6] and Pinker has posted a reply.[7]
Anarcho-primitivist author John Zerzan has criticized the book; saying that Pinker over-estimates prehistoric violence by conflating hunter-gatherers with farmers or tribes that came into corrupting contact with European colonialists, and underestimates the indirect violence of the "Little Eichmanns" that drive destructive aspects of civilization.[8] [9]
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