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Steven Pinker

スティーヴン・ピンカー

Sutīvun Pinkā

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1954-09-18 （Montreal, Quebec, Canada）
Nationality
Canada, United States
Languages
English
Religion
Atheism (cultural Jewish background)
Residence History
Montreal (birthplace) → Cambridge/Boston (MIT, Harvard affiliation) → Stanford (visiting positions/lectures) → London (visiting lectures at New College of the Humanities)

Career

Occupations
cognitive psychologist, psycholinguist, author, public intellectual, university professor
Active Years
1979-
Affiliations
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Stanford University (visiting), New College of the Humanities (visiting lecturer)
Influenced By
Noam Chomsky, Stephen Kosslyn, Roger Brown, Daniel Dennett

Education

Dawson College
Degree: Diploma of College Studies
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: Canada
Attended for college studies (DCS)
McGill University
Psychology
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: Canada
Major in psychology
Harvard University
Experimental psychology (PhD)
Degree: PhD
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: United States
Thesis: The representation and manipulation of three-dimensional space in mental images (1979)

Awards

Troland Research Award
1993
Organization: National Academy of Sciences
Result: 受賞
Henry Dale Prize
2004
Organization: Royal Institution
Result: 受賞
Walter P. Kistler Book Award
2005
Organization: Walter P. Kistler Foundation
Result: 受賞
Humanist of the Year
2006
Organization: American Humanist Association
Result: 受賞
George A. Miller Prize
2010
Organization: Cognitive Neuroscience Society
Result: 受賞
Richard Dawkins Award
2013
Organization: Richard Dawkins Foundation (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Carl Sagan Award for Public Appreciation of Science
2018
Organization: Awarding organization (details not specified)
Result: 受賞
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (Humanities and Social Sciences)
2022
Category: Humanities and Social Sciences
Organization: BBVA Foundation
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize (finalist)
1998
Work: How the Mind Works
Organization: Pulitzer Prize
Result: 最終候補
Pulitzer Prize (finalist)
2003
Work: The Blank Slate
Organization: Pulitzer Prize
Result: 最終候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Language Instinct

1994 Popular science (linguistics/psychology)

Argues that language is an innate faculty shaped by evolution; a popular introduction to theories and research on language acquisition.

language acquisitionnativismevolutionary psychology

How the Mind Works

1997 Popular science (cognitive science)

Explores the structure and function of the mind from an evolutionary perspective, interpreting mental faculties as adaptations.

cognitive scienceevolutionary explanationsmodularity of mind

Words and Rules

1999 Popular science (psycholinguistics)

Presents a theory explaining language via rules and memory (association), using the English past tense as a central example.

rules and memorypast tense acquisitionpsycholinguistics

The Blank Slate

2002 Popular science (ideas/social criticism)

Argues against the blank-slate view, presenting scientific evidence for innate human tendencies; provoked extensive public debate.

human naturegenes and environmentsocio-political ideas

The Stuff of Thought

2007 Popular science (language/psychology)

Examines how language connects to thought and social cognition across many examples.

language and thoughtsemanticssocial cognition

The Better Angels of Our Nature

2011 Popular science (history/social statistics)

Argues, using historical data, that violence has declined over long time scales and analyzes contributing forces.

decline of violencehistorical statisticsprogressivist arguments

The Sense of Style

2014 Style guide

A style guide for writing informed by modern linguistics and cognitive science.

stylelinguistics-informed writing

Enlightenment Now

2018 Popular science/ideas

Defends reason, science and humanism as drivers of human progress and improvement.

defense of reasonscience and humanismprogress

Rationality

2021 Popular science (decision-making/rationality)

Examines what rationality is and why rational thinking sometimes appears scarce in modern society.

rationalitydecision-makingcognitive biases

Bibliography

  • Language Learnability and Language Development (1984)
  • Visual Cognition (1985)
  • Connections and Symbols (1988)
  • Learnability and Cognition: The Acquisition of Argument Structure (1989)
  • The Language Instinct (1994)
  • How the Mind Works (1997)
  • Words and Rules (1999)
  • The Blank Slate (2002)
  • The Stuff of Thought (2007)
  • The Better Angels of Our Nature (2011)
  • The Sense of Style (2014)
  • Enlightenment Now (2018)
  • Rationality (2021)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, readable popular-science prosesynthetic style integrating broad data and theoryessayistic approach that highlights controversies
Recurring Motifs
evolutionary explanationsdefense of reason and humanismassessment of society by scientific data

Legacy

Pinker is a prominent public intellectual who popularized cognitive science and psycholinguistics; his evolutionary perspective and defense of reason have had wide influence, but his interpretation of data and cultural issues has provoked substantial academic and public controversy.

Academic Societies

  • National Academy of Sciences (member)
  • Linguistic Society of America (Fellow)
  • Fellowships/awards in cognitive science societies

In Popular Culture

  • Extensive exposure via TED talks and public lectures
  • Essays and coverage in outlets such as Time and The New York Times

Quotes

  • Language is an instinct.
    Source: The Language Instinct (1994) (1994)
  • Reason, science, and humanism have improved the human condition.
    Source: Enlightenment Now (2018) (2018)

Trivia

  • Avid cyclist.
  • Was nominated by acclamation as the first member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists.
  • Has provoked numerous public controversies through popular works.