1st Edition

An Analysis of Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature Why Violence has Declined

By Joulia Smortchkova Copyright 2017
106 Pages
by Macat Library

106 Pages
by Macat Library

106 Pages
by Macat Library

Reasoning is the critical thinking skill concerned with the production of arguments: making them coherent, consistent, and well-supported; and responding to opposing positions where necessary. The Better Angels of Our Nature offers a step-by-step class in precisely these skills. Author Steven Pinker's central thesis is simple: mankind has become increasingly less violent over the centuries, and... Read more

Ways in to the Text 

Who is Steven Pinker? 

What does The Better Angels of Our Nature Say? 

Why does The Better Angels of Our Nature Matter? 

Section 1: Influences 

Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 

Module 2: Academic Context 

Module 3: The Problem 

Module 4: The Author's Contribution 

Section 2: Ideas 

Module 5: Main Ideas 

Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

Module 7: Achievement 

Module 8: Place in the Author's Work 

Section 3: Impact 

Module 9: The First Responses 

Module 10: The Evolving Debate 

Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 

Module 12: Where Next? 

Glossary of Terms 

People Mentioned in the Text 

Works Cited

Biography

Dr Joulia Smortchkova holds a PhD in social psychology from the Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS, ENS, EHESS), Paris. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.