Science

The Blank Slate: 8 key ideas

by Steven Pinker

The core ideas of The Blank Slate, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   The mind is not blank

   Pinker argues against the view that the human mind at birth is a blank slate shaped entirely by experience and culture.

   Evidence from genetics, psychology and neuroscience, in his view, shows that people have a shared human nature.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Three myths shape thinking

   Pinker identifies three linked beliefs: the blank slate, the noble savage, who is naturally good, and the ghost in the machine, a soul separate from the brain.

   He argues all three are mistaken.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   Humans were not always peaceful

   Pinker challenges the idea that people in simple societies were naturally peaceful.

   He cites evidence of high violence in many traditional societies. He argues that the idea of a gentle early human past is partly a myth.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Biology does not justify inequality

   Pinker argues that accepting human nature does not mean accepting unfairness.

   Equal rights, in his view, do not depend on everyone being the same. People can be treated fairly under the law even though they differ in many ways.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   Biology does not remove responsibility

   Pinker argues that explaining behaviour through genes and brains does not excuse it.

   People can still be held responsible for their actions. A cause for an action is not the same thing as an excuse for it, in his view.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Life still has meaning

   Pinker argues that understanding the mind as a product of the brain does not make life meaningless.

   Love, beauty and morality remain real to us. Knowing how something works does not remove the wonder or value it holds.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Politics reflects views of nature

   Pinker suggests that political views often reflect different beliefs about human nature.

   He argues that honest debate requires facing the evidence. Both the left and the right, he says, rest on assumptions about what people are like.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   Arts and parenting reconsidered

   Pinker discusses how human nature affects art, parenting and education.

   He suggests that parents shape children less than often assumed. He holds that genes and the wider world both matter, and the old view that parents mould everything is too simple.