20 thoughts on “Pinker to speak at Cambridge Union at 2 p.m. Chicago time”

  3. It seems to be along the lines of “How do we understand a pandemic in a world of progress?” But I could well be mistaken…

  4. It might possibly be connected with a two-part programme on BBC4 last night called ‘The Violence Paradox’. As the Beeb’s blurb says,:

    ‘Psychologist Steven Pinker believes we may be living in the most peaceful period in human existence. He explores the reasons why this might be and whether it [ie violence] could be prevented altogether.’

    The theme will be familiar to those who have read ‘The better angels of our nature’. The programmes are available on iplayer, for those who can get it. They were pretty good: recommended!

  5. “Progress and Enlightenment in the 21st Century” I missed the start, but once it finished the link now plays a recording from the beginning. So I’ll watch the first 5 mins, to catch what I missed

  6. Thank you so much for the heads up. What a enlightening way to spend the past hour this afternoon. And has 21st century technology had a positive impact on society? Certainly in this sliver. How else can anyone in the world (me in Virginia, USA; Professor Pinker likely in Cambridge, USA; and the Cambridge Union Society in the original Cambridge, UK) participate in real time with only a few minutes notice in this wonderful type of exchange of ideas? Amazing.

  7. I wonder if there’s a relationship between the increasingly popular concept of speech being violence with the reduction of actual violence?

  8. Watching the recording.
    Why do detractors get so bent out of shape over this thesis? He shows volumes of data about how technologies and social improvement has benefited humans in all parameters and in essentially all areas of the world. And for showing that he is attacked b/c (as the detractors point out) there is still poverty and inequity. Is that too simple a summary of the situation? Its as if I show a graph which reveals how deaths from lung cancer have decreased in parts of the world where smoking has decreased, and I am attacked because people still smoke and smokers still get lung cancer.

    1. He is attacked because he shows that a world dominated by capitalism and “western” ideals actually works very well.

      But much of today’s social-science academia are far-left, smash-the-system radicals who want capitalism overthrown and replaced by a communist utopia. They cannot tolerate the idea that the current system may actually be pretty good.

  9. Thanks for the heads up Jerry. Most enjoyable talk, currently sending the link to all my grand kids

  10. The interviewer is asking the right kind of questions. Although it might be more satisfying to hear Pinker dispatch his critics, her questions are penetrating.

    There was a reference to “tomorrow’s debate”. Anyone know more about that? Will it also be available for our viewing pleasure?

  11. At around 32:30, Pinker is asked about how evolution impacts his work. He talks about how evolutionary biologists frown on talking about evolution producing progress. Very interesting.

  14. The clarity is overwhelming – refreshing, in fact – it is quite a talent that the same talk for one book is not simply repeated at every talk – clearly, Pinker has tuned the talk to be bleeding-edge, keeping up with all the signal – and noise – being made out there.

    …”… and so on ad infinitum” – loved that!

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