MetaFilter posts tagged with pinker

evolutionary lit crit

shotgunbooty — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:11:27 -0800

Toward a consilient study of literature (pdf) by Steven Pinker. A critical review of Gottschall and Wilson's, "The Literary Animal: Evolution and the Nature of Narrative". The intro excerpted: People tell stories. all over the world, and probably for as long as they have existed, people invent characters and recount their ficti- tious exploits. This apparent frivolity is no small matter in human affairs. if one were to tally the number of hours and resources spent in enjoying fiction in all its forms—story-telling, pretend play, myths and legends, fairy tales, novels, short stories, epic poems, television, movies, theater, opera, ballads, narrative paintings, jokes, comics, skits, video games, and pornography—it would surely account for a major portion of people’s time and a major portion of modern economic activity. Considering the costs in time, foregone opportunities to engage in practical pursuits, and the dangers of confusing fantasy with reality, our longing to lose ourselves in fiction is a big puzzle for anyone seeking to understand human beings. all the more so from a Darwinian perspective, as one might have expected natural selection to have weeded out any inclina- tion to engage in imaginary worlds rather than the real one.

What The Fuck?

BeerFilter — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:43:48 -0800

Why We Curse. An article by Steven Pinker, exploring the roots of modern "dirty words" and the psychohistory of how and why we use the expletives we use. All on one page: What The F***?

The most peaceful time in history

bigmusic — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 21:02:29 -0800

In sixteenth-century Paris, a popular form of entertainment was cat-burning, in which a cat was hoisted in a sling on a stage and slowly lowered into a fire. According to historian Norman Davies, "[T]he spectators, including kings and queens, shrieked with laughter as the animals, howling with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carbonized." Today, such sadism would be unthinkable in most of the world. This change in sensibilities is just one example of perhaps the most important and most underappreciated trend in the human saga: Violence has been in decline over long stretches of history, and today we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth. [pdf] via NPR

Lakoff 1, Pinker 0

anotherpanacea — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 20:09:30 -0800

George Lakoff responds to Steven Pinker’s review of Whose Freedom?. Highlights include charges of deception and incompetence on both sides.

Bonanza of articles and interviews on communication

painquale — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 01:27:06 -0800

Forbes special report on communication. A truckload of excellent articles and interview excerpts! Noam Chomsky on the spontaneous invention of language. Carl Zimmer on talking chimps. Jane Goodall on why words hurt. Arthur C. Clarke on the planetary conversation. Kurt Vonnegut on telling a story. Desmond Morris on symbolic gestures. Sid Meier on communicating with video games. David Copperfield on keeping secrets. Stan Lee on the superpower of comics. Steven Pinker on why we have language. Walter Cronkite on the language of news. Daniel Libeskind on the language of design. And much more!

Take _that_, social constructionism!

greatgefilte — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 15:27:20 -0800

The psychology of taboo. Commenting on the Harvard hullabaloo that took place a few weeks ago, linguist/cognitive scientist Steven Pinker offers his opinion, using ideas he previously presented in The Blank Slate (via AL Daily)