Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
psychologist Dr. Steven Pinker
[b. 1954]
 | short profile |
“The main lesson of thirty-five years of AI {artificial intelligence} research is that the hard problems are easy
and the easy problems are hard.” - from his book "The Language Instinct", 1994
“We will never have a perfect world, but it's not romantic or naïve to work toward a better one.”
— Steven Pinker
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Harvard professor and cognitive psychologist; author of eighteen books
Peter de Florez Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) until 2003;
Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University since 2003.
official website
Wikipedia
browse books
Steven Pinker credits [since 1995] at Internet Movie Database
Major Works
"Language Learnability and Language Development" [1984]
"Visual Cognition" [1985]
"Connections and Symbols" [1988]
"Learnability and Cognition: The Acquisition of Argument Structure" [1989]
"Lexical and Conceptual Semantics" [1992]
 | "The Language Instinct: How The Mind Creates Language" [1994] by Steven Pinker Harper Perennial 8x5¼ pb [11/2000] for $10.50 | |
 | "How The Mind Works" [1997] by Steven Pinker
W.W.Norton 9¼x6 pb [1/99] for $12.57 W.W.Norton 9½x6½ hardcover [10/97] out of print/used Audio Scholar ABR cassette [1/2000] out of print/used | |
 | "Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language" [1999] by Steven Pinker
Harper Perennial 8x5¼ pb [1/2000] for $10.50 Perseus/Basic 9½x6½ hardcover [10/99] for $4.98 | |
 | "Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature" [2002] by Steven Pinker Viking 9¾x6¼ hardcover [9/2002] for $16.77 |
"The Best American Science and Nature Writing" [2004] editor and introduction
"Hotheads (An extract from How the Mind Works)" [2005] ISBN 978-0-14-102238-3
"The Stuff of Thought: Language As A Window Into Human Nature" [2007]
"The Seven Words You Can't Say On Television" [2008]
"The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined" [2011]
selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year; rec by bill gates during tweet-storm 5/2017
"Language, Cognition, and Human Nature: Selected Articles" [2013]
"The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide To Writing In The 21st Century" [Sept 2014]
"Enlightenment Now: The Case For Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress" [Feb 2018] by Steven Pinker
http://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-Now-Science-Humanism-Progress/dp/0141979097/ 7/2018
Enlightenment Now... | Steven Pinker | Talks at Google 7/2019
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkPOHB2rRkc 1.01.15
"Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters" [Sept 2021]
Other Works
 | "Darwin (Norton Critical Editions)" [orig 1970, rev 2000] Selected & edited by Philip Appleman "The best Darwin anthology on the market." — Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard University W.W. Norton & Co. 3rd edition 9¼x5½ pb [12/2000] for $17.74 W.W. Norton & Co. 2nd edition 9¼x6¼ hardcover [11/79] out of print/used Excerpts from Darwin's own work and recent research and scholarship on evolutionary concepts; contributors include Gillian Beer, Richard Dawkins, Frans de Waal, Daniel Dennett, Stephen Jay Gould, Noretta Koertge, George Levine, Ernst Mayr, Kevin Padian, Steven Pinker, Michael Ruse, Eugene C. Scott, George C. Williams, Edward O. Wilson, and many others | |
 | "The Greatest Inventions of The Past 2,000 Years" [2000] Edited by science writer John Brockman, Afterword by Jared Diamond contributors include neuroscientist Colin Blakemore (the birth-control pill), Stewart Brand, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, biologist Richard Dawkins (spectroscope), Daniel Dennett, Jared Diamond, physicist Freeman Dyson (hay), Howard Gardner, Murray Gell-Mann, Leon Lederman, editor John Maddox (the calculus), Steven Pinker, Sherry Turkel Orion Publng 7¾x5 pb [2/2001] out of print/used Simon & Schuster 8¼x5½ hardcover [1/2000] for $10.02 | |
 | "What Is Your Dangerous Idea?" [2006] Edited by John Brockman, Introduction by Steven Pinker, Afterword by Richard Dawkins The follow-up to 'What We Believe But Cannot Prove' is a collection of thought-experiments by eminent thinkers and scientists including Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Jared Diamond, Freeman Dyson, Howard Gardner, Brian Greene, Steven Pinker, and Matt Ridley Kindle Edition from HarperCollins e-books [10/2009] for $10.99 Pocket Books UK 7¾x5 pb [7/2007] for $9.00 Simon & Schuster 7¾x5 hardcover [2006] out of print/used | |
 | "Intelligent Thought: Science versus The Intelligent Design Movement" [2006] Edited by John Brockman sixteen essays by contributors that include: Scott Atran, Jerry A. Coyne, Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Marc D. Hauser, Nicholas Humphrey, Stuart A. Kauffman, Seth Lloyd, psychologist Steven Pinker, Lisa Randall, geologist Scott D. Sampson, Neil H. Shubin, Lee Smolin, Frank J. Sulloway, Leonard Susskind, and paleontologist Tim D. White Kindle Edition from Vintage/Random House [12/2007] for $11.99 Vintage Books 8x5¼ pb [5/2006] for $14.36 | |
 | "Is The Internet Changing The Way [That] You Think?: The Net's Impact On Our Minds and Future" [2011] Edited by John Brockman contributors include: Nicholas Carr, Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Jaron Lanier, Steven Pinker, Clay Shirky, Nassim N. Taleb, Nobel-laureate Frank Wilczek Kindle Edition from HarperCollins e-books [1/2011] for $3.99 HarperPerennial 8x5½ pb [1/2011] for $12.18 HarperPerennial 8x5½ pb [1/2011] for $12.15 | |
 | "What Should We Be Worried About?: Real Scenarios That Keep Scientists Up At Night" [2014] Edited by John Brockman, publisher at Edge.org [est. 1996] 150 ideas from contributors that include Scott Atran, Susan Blackmore, Nicholas Carr, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Daniel C. Dennett, Esther Dyson, George Dyson, Brian Eno, Helen Fisher, Howard Gardner, Terry Gilliam, Daniel Goleman, Alison Gopnik, Sam Harris, Virginia Heffernan, Arianna Huffington, Jennifer Jacquet, Kate Jeffery, Kevin Kelly, Lawrence Krauss, Seth Lloyd, Tim O'Reilly, Steven Pinker, Lisa Randall, Martin Rees, Matt Ridley, Douglas Rushkoff, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Sherry Turkle, J. Craig Venter, Nobel-laureate Frank Wilczek — and more Kindle Edition from HarperCollins Publrs [2/2014] for $8.99 Harper Perennial 8x5¼ pb [2/2014] for $12.96 | |
 | "This Idea Is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know" [2018] Edited by John Brockman over 200 articles selected from The Edge written by authors that include Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, Helen Fisher, Alison Gopnik, Lawrence Krauss, Ian McEwan, Steven Pinker, Lisa Randall, Carlo Rovelli, Richard Thaler, and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek Kindle Edition from HarperPerennial/HarperCollins [1/2018] for $12.99 HarperPerennial 8x5¼ pb [1/2018] for $12.78 |
The 2024 Goldtrap Lecture "Natural and Artificial Intelligence: How Rational Are Humans?" by Dr. Steven Pinker
12 April 2024 at Iowa State University of Science & Technology •
lecture homepage {audio requires ISU login}
Stageplays, Movies, Other Media
Steven Pinker credits [since 1995] at Internet Movie Database
"The Great Ape Trial" TV special [1995]
"Charlie Rose" TV series (1991) - 1995 episode
"Me & Isaac Newton" (1999)
"Evolution" TV mini-series (2002) = advisor
"The Sunday Programme" TV series (1994) = 2003 episode
"Double Helix: The DNA Years" TV movie (2004)
"Mariella Frostrup in The Book Show" TV series (2006) = 2007 episode
"Stephen Colbert in The Colbert Report" TV series (2005) - 4 episodes 2007–2013
"Charlie Rose" TV series (1991) - 2008 episode with LtGen William Caldwell / Andrea Jung / Steven Pinker (March 13, 2008)
http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Rose-Lieutenant-General-Caldwell/dp/B0014X82PM/ DVD sold out
"The Genius of Charles Darwin" TV mini-series [BBC-TV4 Aug 2008]
 | three hour-long BBC-TV episodes; Athena DVD includes 16-page booklet, bonus disk with five interviews, two shorts, text biography & more • Co-produced & directed by Russell Barnes; written & hosted by Richard Dawkins, FRS; featuring Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett, Craig Venter, creationists John Mackay & Wendy Wright, and Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury; won British Broadcast Award for Best Documentary Series, won BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Factual Series •
credits at IMDb
Athena widescreen color DVD [11/2009] 2 disks for $19.99 175-minute Dawkins/I.W.C. widescreen color DVD [2008] out of prodn/used |
"Brainwash" TV series (2010) - 2 episodes
"Philosophy Talk" podcast series (2003) = 3 episodes 2010–2018
"Fry's Planet Word" TV series (2011) - 2 episodes
"George Stroumboulopoulos in The Hour" TV Series (2004) = 2012 episode
"Charlie Rose" TV series (1991) - 2012 episode with E.O. Wilson / Eric Kandel / Steven Pinker (April 3, 2012)
http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Rose-Wilson-Kandel-Steven/dp/B007S1VW1U/ DVD sold out
"Wissenschaftsdoku" TV series (2012)
"Social Science Bites" podcast series (2012) = 2012 episode (voice)
"Morgan Freeman in Through The Wormhole" TV series (2010) = 2012 episode
"Creating Freedom: The Lottery of Birth" (2013) by Vandana Shiva, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker Howard Zinn
http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Freedom-Episode-One-Lottery/dp/B01EGQCLI2/
http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Freedom-Episode-One-Lottery/dp/B00GKP70W0/ dvd $16.99
"The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers" TV series (2009) - 2013 episode
"The Nature of Genius" video [2013]
"Nova" TV series (1974) = 2013 episode
"Grammar Revolution" (2014)
"Still Alice" (2014) starring Julianne Moore = linguistics consultant
"La Tronche en Biais" (2014)
"E.O. Wilson: Of Ants and Men" (2015)
"Philosophy For Our Times" (2016) = episode?
"Social Science Bites" podcast series (2012) = 2017 episode (voice)
Stephen Fry & Steven Pinker on "Enlightenment Today"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aT61w3Q6vI 1.18.48 2/2018
"The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast series (2009) = 2018 episode
"Freethought Matters" TV series (2018)
"The Test and The Art of Thinking" (2018)
"The Civic Discourse Project" TV series [2018] as Speaker
"The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast" podcast series (2016) = 2018 episode
"Sternstunden" TV series (1994) = 2018 episode
"Jo Coburn in Politics Live" TV series (2018) = 2019 episode
"Question Time" TV series (1979) = 2019 episode
"That Moment When" TV series (2018) = 2019 episode
"Nova" TV series (1974) = 2019 episode
"The Sun: Burning Questions" (2019)
"Coronavirus: The Conspiracies" (2020)
"Trust Me" (2020)
"Thomas Sowell: Common Sense In A Senseless World - A Personal Exploration by Jason Riley" TV Movie (2021)
"Better Left Unsaid" (2021)
"Nature and Us: A History Through Art" TV mini-series (2021) = 2 episodes
Talks At Google: "Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters" [Nov 2021]
Steven Pinker discusses his new book "Rationality ..." with Brian Welle
watch 11/2021 video [57:06] online at YouTube
 | "Projekt Aufklärung (Project Enlightenment)" TV mini-series [Arte Germany April 2022] hour-long 4-part TV mini-series hosted by Andrea Fies; Steven Pinker is part of the first three episodes Episode 1: "Wie entsteht eine gerechte Welt? (How does a just world come about?)" with Salman Rushdie, Steven Pinker, Jimmy Wales, Olaf Scholz (Chancellor of Germany) • IMDb episode credits Episode 2: "Wie wird Wissen zu Erkenntnis? (How does knowledge become knowledge?)" with Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, Salman Rushdie, Jimmy Wales, and archive footage of Donald Trump • IMDb episode credits Episode 3: "Wo beginnt Verantwortung? (Where does responsibility begin?)" with Steven Pinker, and archive footage of Mark Zuckerberg • IMDb episode credits Episode 4: "Was bedeutet Freiheit im 21. Jahrhundert? (What does freedom mean in the 21st Century?)" with Salman Rushdie, Olaf Scholz, and archive footage of Lech Walesa • IMDb episode credits |
 | "Counterweight Media/The Dissidents" podcast [since 2020] episode "Reason, Rationality & Political Polarisation" [Aug 2022] 27-minute podcast with host Jennifer Richmond and guest Steven Pinker episode credits at IMDb watch 8/2022 video [27:13] online at YouTube |
"On Reason and Rationality: Steven Pinker Meets Richard Dawkins" []
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9xapuNvtIQ 1.11.33 10/2022
"Andrew Doyle in Free Speech Nation" TV series (2021) = 2023 episode
"Free To Speak: The Speech We Hate" (2023)
"Free To Speak: The One True Faith" (2023)
"Free To Speak: Thought Police" (2023)
"Steven Pinker: Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters" [Nov 2023]
at UBS {Union Bank of Switzerland} Center for Economics in Society [est. 2012] at University of Zurich, Switzerland
watch 11/2023 lecture [1:30:13] online at YouTube
"President's Lecture Series #2: Steven Pinker" [May 2024]
hosted by Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian
watch 5/2024 lecture [1:15:32] online at YouTube
"Wild Genius: Why We Do What We Do" [Rangeland Prodns Sept 2024] 
 | 'The unconventional and amazing life and legacy of evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers' Produced by Jim Swift; directed by Susan Kucera; written by Bruce Hood; featuring Joseph Graves Jr., Steven Pinker, Mark Plotkin, Laurie Santos, Robert Trivers credits at IMDb • Trivers official website • Trivers entry at Wikipedia DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • |
Works About Steven Pinker
[ to be added ]
Image Gallery
Friends & Family
Steven Pinker was born in September 1954 in Montréal, Québec, Canada;
first wife Nancy Etcoff Pinker [] - married 1980, divorced 1992
second wife Ilavenil Subbiah Pinker [] - married 1995, divorced ?
third wife Rebecca Goldstein Pinker [] - married ?
L i n k s
Steven Pinker credits [since 1995] at Internet Movie Database
browse books at Steven Pinker Store on Amazon
here on the Steven Pinker Page at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
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