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In the decade of Darfur and Iraq, and shortly after the century of Stalin,
Hitler, and Mao, the claim that violence has been diminishing may seem
somewhere between hallucinatory and obscene. Yet recent studies that
seek to quantify the historical ebb and flow of violence oint to e!actly that
conclusion.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
by Steven Pinker
Introduction
Once again, Steven Pinker returns to debunking the doctrine of the
noble savage in the following piece based on his lecture at the recent TED
Conference in Monterey, California
This doctrine, !the idea that hu"ans are peaceable by
nature and corrupted by "odern institutions#pops up fre$uently in the
writing of public intellectuals like %os& Ortega y 'asset (!)ar is not an
instinct but an invention!*, Stephen %ay 'ould (!+o"o sapiens is not an evil
or destructive species!*, and ,shley Montagu (!-iological studies lend
support to the ethic of universal brotherhood!*,! he writes !-ut, now that
social scientists have started to count bodies in different historical periods,
they have discovered that the ro"antic theory gets it backward. /ar fro"
causing us to beco"e "ore violent, so"ething in "odernity and its cultural
institutions has "ade us nobler!
Pinker0s notable talk, along with his essay, is one "ore e1a"ple of how
ideas forthco"ing fro" the e"pirical and biological study of hu"an beings
is gaining sway over those of the scientists and others in disciplines that
rely on studying social actions and hu"an cultures independent fro" their
biological foundation
#%-
STE2E3 P435E6 is the %ohnstone /a"ily Professor in the Depart"ent of
Psychology at +arvard 7niversity +is "ost recent book is "he #lank Slate.
Steven Pinker0s $dge -io Page
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
4n si1teenth8century Paris, a popular for" of entertain"ent was cat8
burning, in which a cat was hoisted in a sling on a stage and slowly lowered
into a fire ,ccording to historian 3or"an Davies, !9T:he spectators,
including kings and $ueens, shrieked with laughter as the ani"als, howling
with pain, were singed, roasted, and finally carboni;ed! Today, such
sadis" would be unthinkable in "ost of the world This change in
sensibilities is <ust one e1a"ple of perhaps the "ost i"portant and "ost
underappreciated trend in the hu"an saga. 2iolence has been in decline
over long stretches of history, and today we are probably living in the "ost
peaceful "o"ent of our species0 ti"e on earth
4n the decade of Darfur and 4ra$, and shortly after the century of Stalin,
+itler, and Mao, the clai" that violence has been di"inishing "ay see"
so"ewhere between hallucinatory and obscene =et recent studies that seek
to $uantify the historical ebb and flow of violence point to e1actly that
conclusion
So"e of the evidence has been under our nose all along Conventional
history has long shown that, in "any ways, we have been getting kinder
and gentler Cruelty as entertain"ent, hu"an sacrifice to indulge
superstition, slavery as a labor8saving device, con$uest as the "ission
state"ent of govern"ent, genocide as a "eans of ac$uiring real estate,
torture and "utilation as routine punish"ent, the death penalty for
"isde"eanors and differences of opinion, assassination as the "echanis"
of political succession, rape as the spoils of war, pogro"s as outlets for
frustration, ho"icide as the "a<or for" of conflict resolution#all were
une1ceptionable features of life for "ost of hu"an history -ut, today, they
are rare to none1istent in the )est, far less co""on elsewhere than they
used to be, concealed when they do occur, and widely conde"ned when
they are brought to light
,t one ti"e, these facts were widely appreciated They were the source of
notions like progress, civili;ation, and "an0s rise fro" savagery and
barbaris" 6ecently, however, those ideas have co"e to sound corny, even
dangerous They see" to de"oni;e people in other ti"es and places,
license colonial con$uest and other foreign adventures, and conceal the
cri"es of our own societies The doctrine of the noble savage#the idea that
hu"ans are peaceable by nature and corrupted by "odern institutions#
pops up fre$uently in the writing of public intellectuals like %os& Ortega y
'asset (!)ar is not an instinct but an invention!*, Stephen %ay 'ould
(!+o"o sapiens is not an evil or destructive species!*, and ,shley Montagu
(!-iological studies lend support to the ethic of universal brotherhood!*
-ut, now that social scientists have started to count bodies in different
historical periods, they have discovered that the ro"antic theory gets it
backward. /ar fro" causing us to beco"e "ore violent, so"ething in
"odernity and its cultural institutions has "ade us nobler
To be sure, any atte"pt to docu"ent changes in violence "ust be soaked
in uncertainty 4n "uch of the world, the distant past was a tree falling in
the forest with no one to hear it, and, even for events in the historical
record, statistics are spotty until recent periods >ong8ter" trends can be
John rock!"n# Editor "nd Pub$i%her
Ru%%e$$ &einber'er# A%%oci"te Pub$i%her
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