The Better Angels of Our Nature | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 2019-06-13

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Better_Angels_of_Our_Nature


00:01:10 1 Thesis
00:05:06 2 Outline of the book
00:05:50 2.1 Six trends of declining violence (Chapters 2 through 7)
00:09:17 2.2 Five inner demons (Chapter 8)
00:11:13 2.3 Four better angels (Chapter 9)
00:12:32 3 Influences
00:14:20 4 Reception
00:14:29 4.1 Praise
00:22:18 4.2 Criticism
00:37:17 5 Awards and honors
00:37:53 6 Media
00:38:40 7 See also



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Speaking Rate: 0.9036190744875634
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-C


"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."
- Socrates


SUMMARY
=======
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined is a 2011 book by Steven Pinker, in which the author argues that violence in the world has declined both in the long run and in the short run and suggests explanations as to why this has occurred. The book contains a wealth of data simply documenting declining violence across time and geography. This paints a picture of massive declines in violence of all forms, from war, to improved treatment of children. He highlights the role of nation-state monopolies on force, of commerce (making "other people become more valuable alive than dead"), of increased literacy and communication (promoting empathy), as well as a rise in a rational problem-solving orientation as possible causes of this decline in violence. He notes that, paradoxically, our impression of violence has not tracked this decline, perhaps because of increased communication, and that  further decline is not inevitable, but is contingent on forces harnessing our better motivations such as empathy and increases in reason.