Better Angels of our Nature
Steven Pinker to Speak at Linda Hall Library
Linda Hall Libary
5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri
October 12, 2011
7:00 pm
Lectures are free and open to the public; however, seating is limited and tickets are required. Complete the online form, email or call (816) 926-8772 with your name, address, phone number, and the number of individuals in your party. Please specify the lectures you plan to attend. Please contact Eric Ward at 816-926-8753 for more information on this event.
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species’s existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?
This groundbreaking book continues Pinker’s exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind’s inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.
Here is a link to the Dr. Pinker’s book that goes on sale October 4:
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Angels-Our-Nature-Violence/dp/0670022950
Hope to see you at the lecture!
