The Better Angels of Our Nature
Why Violence Has Declined
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The Better Angels of Our Nature
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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By:
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Steven Pinker
About this listen
“If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this - the most inspiring book I've ever read."
- Bill Gates (May, 2017)
Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year
The author of Enlightenment Now and The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought offers a controversial history of violence.
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, programs, 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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2011 by Steven Pinker. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Better Angels of Our Nature
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Neil Mathewson
- 20-08-19
This is an excellent book!
This is an excellent book. It is not for the faint hearted as it covers topics that some may find disturbing. However, in my opinion everyone should take the time to read/ listen to it as it's not only thought provoking but in a peculiar way life aferming.
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- A. Smithson
- 06-03-16
rethink what you know about violent conflict
this is long and technical, but well worth the time. it's a bit of a minefield of dry data interspersed with graphic descriptions of, for example, medieval torture practices. take care if listening with kids around. the mere fact I need to tell you this in a review of a book on violence tells you how much modern attitudes have shifted away from violence. this work takes you through how we got from the bad old days to the modern global village and leaves you with a real sense of hope.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sandy Morley
- 31-10-18
How can a theory so positive be so full of horror?
I've learnt probably more from this than from any other book. It's chock-full of well made arguments and the evidence to back them up. It's also significantly more interesting than many of the more academic books I've read or listened to.
But it's all held together by the word that started this sentence. But. It's natural for narrative conflict when dealing with something so thoroughly *big*, but whatever phrasing the author uses, it so liberally glues the narrative together that you can't help noting it. It's also immensely frustrating when some of the more compelling arguments are brushed aside with a "but I don't think so," where more immediately tenuous links are explored in great depth.
The Better Angels of our Nature is a refreshingly positive take on history, but Pinker describes great horrors in sometimes graphic detail to press the point that we've never had it so good, and that offers a welcome challenge to the reader. It also serves as a stark warning of the historic results of fierce nationalism and the breaking down of a leviathan such as the EU.
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- Peadar O Broin
- 07-05-20
The history of violence: a new perspective
This is a comprehensive , well argued and well delivered thesis. So full of logical, statistical and psychological support it oft requires a re-read or a follow up from the written text.
Thank you
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- bangophinx
- 18-12-17
very good insight into history of violence
Steven pinker really digs deep into the history of violence and how humans tick. Very thorough analysis of the subject. I enjoyed how he uses everyday life examples to drive his point home. The insight of biblical era violence was well written. I bought into his thesis and subscribe to his views.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- G J.
- 16-09-18
Truly insightful and thought provoking
The theme of the book is very positive.
It is nice that while some of the subject matter requires the reader to deal with some grim truths of human nature it is an overwhelmingly inspiring account of the potential we humans have to overcome the worst of our own nature.
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- Vytautas Astromskas
- 30-09-22
a powerhouse of knowledge
this book is a masterpiece in information sharing. The aspect of violence reduction throughout the ages has been analysed via historic, societal, individual, psychological, biological, and evolutionary lenses.
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- Tim R
- 17-08-20
Exhaustively Worthwhile
There is no denying the extreme length of this work initially counts against it. 38 hours of listening should not be underestimated.
But what a payoff. I was left with a profound sense of how much has been accomplished in the reduction of violence, war and unnecessary cruelty over the last thousand odd years.
I would wish every complainant of modern life be required to read and digest the arguments set out here. Not because the job of progress is completed but because it would be all too easy to lose what we have gained in the continuing journey towards a better life for all.
Solid job by Arthur Morey in bringing Pinker's words to life.
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- Pauric
- 21-04-18
Interesting and thought provoking
I found this book very interesting and I
would strongly recommend it to other people.
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- Nicholas
- 09-07-18
Great book. Better to read than listen.
don't get me wrong, the narrator was great but I felt that I would have gotten more out of the book had I read it on paper. some facts and figures would be easier to digest when written out than when read aloud.
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