October’s planned reading explores Pinker’s argument about long-term changes in violence and the forces that may help explain them.
This book is on the upcoming reading shelf. The notes below introduce the selection; a personal rating and full review will follow after reading.
About this selection
Pinker combines history and psychology to argue that several forms of violence have declined over long periods. This selection invites a closer look at how broad historical claims are constructed, which measures they rely on, and how different timescales change the picture.
The reading focus will be evidence, human behaviour, and the institutions that support cooperation. The book’s thesis will be approached as an argument to examine, rather than a guarantee of continuing progress or a description of every place and period.
A STARTING POINT FOR REFLECTION
Questions to read with
How do the choice of time period and the definition of violence affect the argument?
Which explanations depend on institutions, and which depend on changes in individual behaviour?
What would help us distinguish a persuasive account of progress from an assumption that progress is inevitable?