Steven Pinker Livres

Qu'est-ce que l'esprit? Comment a-t-il évolué? Comment nous permet-il de penser, d'agir, d'avoir des sentiments ou d'éprouver des émotions esthétiques? C'est à travers ces questions et beaucoup d'autres que l'auteur tente d'analyser les principales facultés de l'esprit : perception, raisonnement, relations sociales, humour, art, religion, philosophie, etc. Un ouvrage qui reste clair et accessible malgré son contenu spécialisé. [SDM].

Is modernity really failing ? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible ? If you follow the headlines, the world in the twenty-first century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Yet, Steven Pinker shows, if you follow the trendlines rather than the headlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer, happier and more prosperous - not just in the West, but worldwide. Such progress is no accident : it's the gift of a coherent and inspiring value system that many of us embrace without even realizing it. These are the values of the Enlightenment : reason, science, humanism and progress. In making the case for an Enlightenment newly recharged for the twenty-first century, Pinker shows how we can use our faculties of reason and sympathy to solve the problems that inevitably come with being products of evolution in an indifferent universe. We will never have a perfect world, but - defying the chorus of fatalism and reaction - we can continue to make it a better one.

A controversial history of violence argues that today's world is the most peaceful time in human existence, drawing on psychological insights into intrinsic values that are causing people to condemn violence as an acceptable measure.

A brilliant inquiry into the origins of human nature from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Enlightenment Now. "Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read..also highly persuasive." --Time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Updated with a new afterword One of the world's leading experts on language and the mind explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts. Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense.

What is the secret of good prose? Does it matter in an age of digital media? In this witty, mind-expanding book about the art and science of writing well, Steven Pinker shows that good style isn't just about rules - it's about empathy, coherence and adding beauty to the world. 'Witty, direct and idiosyncratic . . . often laugh-out-loud funny . . . refreshingly uncensorious . . . It helps enormously that he is such a beautiful stylist himself.' Paula Byrne, The Times 'Wonderful . . . No true lover of this chaotic, unregulated, magnificently vital language could fail to thrill.' Christopher Hart, Sunday Times 'Brainy, funny . . . a comedy of linguistic bad manners.' Peter Conrad, Guardian 'Outstanding . . . the one book I can unreservedly recommend as a guide on how to write well . . . unique as well as brilliant.' Oliver Kamm, The Times

In "The Language Instinct," Steven Pinker, well-known for his revolutionary theory of how children acquire language, lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, how it evolved. With wit, education, and deft use of everyday examples of humor and wordplay, Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution like web spinning in spiders or sonar in bats.

Collects for the first time Steven Pinker's most influential scholarly work on language and cognition. Pinker is a highly eminent cognitive scientist, and these essays emphasize the importance of language and its connections to cognition, social relationships, child development, human evolution, and theories of human nature.

Steven Pinker analyses what words actually mean and how we use them, and he reveals what this can tell us about ourselves. He shows how we use space and motion as metaphors for more abstract ideas, and uncovers the deeper structures of human thought that have been shaped by evolutionary history.

How does language function? How do children acquire their mother tongue? Why do languages evolve, making older forms like Shakespearean and Chaucer's English challenging to understand? What accounts for the quirks and irregularities in languages? Are they fundamentally similar? How are new words formed? Where is language processed in the brain? In this insightful work, Steven Pinker addresses these questions and more. With the same wit and style found in his classic, he delves into language through the lens of a seemingly simple phenomenon: the existence of regular and irregular verbs. This exploration connects a wide range of topics across the sciences and humanities, including language history, computer simulations of human language, children's speech errors, English peculiarities, key themes in Western philosophy, and advancements in genetics and brain imaging. Pinker elucidates these complexities through a powerful idea: language consists of a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. This distinction not only deepens our understanding of language but also sheds light on the human mind itself. This work is a captivating and original contribution from one of the leading cognitive scientists of our time.

Before Steven Pinker became known for his bestsellers on language and human nature, he authored several influential technical monographs on language acquisition. His 1989 work, which integrates two significant topics—how children learn their mother tongue and how the mind categorizes fundamental concepts like space, time, causality, agency, and goals—has become a classic in cognitive science. Children exhibit remarkable subtlety in language use; for instance, phrases like "pour water into the glass" sound natural, while "pour the glass with water" does not. This raises the question of how children make these distinctions without consistent correction or merely mimicking their parents. Pinker addresses this paradox through a theory on how children grasp the meanings and applications of verbs, delving into its implications for language, thought, and their interrelation. In a new preface, he reflects on how the ideas explored in this work inspired his later bestseller, which examines language as a lens into human nature. He emphasizes that these technical discussions offer valuable insights into not only language acquisition but also literary metaphor, scientific understanding, political discourse, and societal views on sexuality and obscenity.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “In our uncertain age, which can so often feel so dark and disturbing, Steven Pinker has distinguished himself as a voice of positivity.” – New York Times Can reading a book make you more rational? Steven Pinker addresses this question and explores the paradox of humanity's scientific advancements alongside widespread irrationality. Despite developing vaccines for Covid-19 in record time, society grapples with fake news and conspiracy theories. Pinker challenges the notion that humans are inherently irrational, arguing instead that we possess the capacity for rational thought, having discovered the laws of nature and improved our lives through knowledge. However, we often neglect the powerful reasoning tools available to us—such as logic, critical thinking, and understanding probability and causation. These concepts are rarely taught effectively, leaving a gap in our education. The book also examines how the rational pursuit of self-interest and group loyalty can lead to societal irrationality. Promoting collective rationality requires norms that foster objectivity and truth. Ultimately, embracing rationality can lead to better personal choices and social progress. Brimming with insight and humor, this work aims to enlighten and empower readers.

"Progress. It is one of the animating concepts of the modern era. From the Enlightenment onwards, the West has had an enduring belief that through the evolution of institutions, innovations, and ideas, the human condition is improving. This process is supposedly accelerating as new technologies, individual freedoms, and the spread of global norms empower individuals and societies around the world. But is progress inevitable? Its critics argue that human civilization has become different, not better, over the last two and a half centuries. What is seen as a breakthrough or innovation in one period becomes a setback or limitation in another. In short, progress is an ideology not a fact; a way of thinking about the world as opposed to a description of reality. In the seventeenth semi-annual Munk Debates, which was held in Toronto on November 6, 2015, pioneering cognitive scientist Steven Pinker and best-selling author Matt Ridley squared off against noted philosopher Alain de Botton and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell to debate whether humankind's best days lie ahead, "--Amazon.com.

Wie Gemeinsames Wissen unsere Gesellschaft bildet – die erste umfassende Theorie Von der Börse über internationale Beziehungen bis hin zu privaten Verabredungen: Tagtäglich treffen wir Annahmen darüber, was andere Menschen wissen und denken, und richten unser Handeln danach aus – oft, ohne uns dessen bewusst zu sein. Steven Pinker befasst sich in seinem neuen Buch damit, wie wir den Wissensstand anderer Menschen einschätzen. Anhand von zahlreichen Beispielen aus der Spieltheorie, der Geschichte und unserem Alltag zeigt er so klar wie unterhaltsam, dass unsere alltäglichen Interaktionen auf komplexesten Überlegungen beruhen – und warum diese Tatsache unser Zusammenleben entscheidend prägt.