Clean Slate. Human Nature. Who and Why Refuses to Acknowledge It Today

For several centuries, many intellectuals have attempted to establish principles of justice, based on the belief that humans are born a "clean slate," upon which parents and society write their biography. Many authors desperately try to discredit the assumption of the innate nature of human traits, for if people are born different, then discrimination and racism are justified; if a person is a product of biology, then free will is merely a myth, and life has no higher meaning or purpose. Pinker convincingly shows that the refusal to analyze questions of human nature not only contradicts modern discoveries in genetics, neurobiology, and evolutionary theory but also distorts our understanding of ourselves. Are intelligence and talents hereditary? Can violence in relationships between people and states be eradicated? Does free will exist, along with responsibility for one's actions? Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker discusses these questions in one of his most significant books.