Authors:
  1. Quotes
  2. Authors
  3. S
  4. Steven Pinker
  5. War

Steven Pinker Quotes about War

All Steven Pinker Quotes Anarchy Art Atheism Biology Character Children Choices Commitment Country Culture Desire Earth Empathy Evolution Genius Giving Human Nature Humanity Judging Language Moon Morality Opportunity Past Personality Perspective Photography Police Psychology Purpose Reading Religion Running School Soul Struggle Style Technology Today Violence War quotes Writing
Most wars are not fought over shortages of resources such as food and water, but rather over conquest, revenge, and ideology.

Most wars are not fought over shortages of resources such as food and water, but rather over conquest, revenge, and ideology.

Steven Pinker
Revenge, War, Water
"Steven Pinker: 'Artists used to gush about the beauty of war. The First World War put an end to that'". Interview with Clint Witchalls, www.independent.co.uk. 10 November, 2011.

When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock. To acknowledge human nature, many think, is to endorse racism, sexism, war, greed, genocide, nihilism, reactionary politics, and neglect of children and the disadvantaged. Any claim that the mind has an innate organization strikes people not as a hypothesis that might be incorrect but as a thought it is immoral to think.

Steven Pinker
Children, War, Thinking
Steven Pinker (2003). “The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature”, p.14, Penguin

The European wars of religion were more deadly than the First World War, proportionally speaking, and in the range of the Second World War in Europe. The Inquisition, the persecution of heretics and infidels and witches, they racked up pretty high death tolls.

Steven Pinker
War, Europe, Tolls
"Is Human Violence On The Wane?". "Science Friday" with Ira Flatow, www.npr.org. October 7, 2011.

Dominance in an adaptation to anarchy and it serves no purpose in a society that has undergone a civilising process or in an international system regulated by agreements and norms. Anything that deflates the concept of dominance is likely to drive down the frequency of fights between individuals and wars.

Steven Pinker
War, Fighting, Agreement

Some people believe that the nuclear bomb should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, since it scared the major powers away from war by equating it with doomsday.

Steven Pinker
War, Believe, People
"History and the Decline of Human Violence". Interview with Gareth Cook, www.scientificamerican.com. October 4, 2011.

Today we take it for granted that war happens in smaller, poorer and more backward countries.

Steven Pinker
Country, War, Today
Steven Pinker (2011). “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined”, p.281, Penguin

'Capitalism' is a dirty word for many intellectuals, but there are a number of studies showing that open economies and free trade are negatively correlated with genocide and war.

Steven Pinker
War, Dirty, Numbers

You May Also Like: