Seems to me that as long as Dr. P. remains at Harvard, the wokie's victory is incomplete and reconquista is possible from within. Pinker forms a sort of Pusan perimeter all by himself.
Pinker is great and his focus on the biological aspects of human behavior is commendable. I love all of his work. However, his take on the role of parenting in the rearing of children continues to challenge me. While the data he cites may be impeccable, anyone who has worked with families their entire career (as I have ) know there is something wrong with his analysis on this front. As Rob Henderson noted when you dig down ow into the molecular anatomy of an apple you will not find red, despite the apple being red. There is some emergent quality between the data and reality --- or I dare say "lived experience"--- that is missing in his analysis. That is the question I've love him or others to explore. As for me, the data does not tell the whole story.
I find interesting that some who do not deny the material realities of the body can end up in essentially the same political camp. I am thinking about the determinists who wish to let everyone know that there is no basis for holding anyone responsible for their acts and want to hold societies responsible if they fail to structure society based on that fact.
My only question for Professor Pinker is this: If you knew that John Money's experiment with the Reimer boys was based on this false blank slate concept, and the concept has sweeping potential for societal damage, did you call out Money, Blanchard, Zucker and all those in real time? These twins were not Jewish and David Reimer was not subjected to a botched circumcision, but rather a botched childhood surgery to correct a penile malformation. Money, a sexual predator who used his grad students sexually and photographed children in sexual play acting, used the Reimer boys to "prove" his theory that sexual identity is learned. Thus David, whose penis was tragically damaged, could be raised "as a girl." No surprise with the deaths by suicide of the Reimer twins. Why, in debates with gender ideologues, aren't these basic facts brought out into the light of day? And how is it that the abuses of women by "trans women" and their diagnosing doctors took this long to see sunlight?
Seems to me that as long as Dr. P. remains at Harvard, the wokie's victory is incomplete and reconquista is possible from within. Pinker forms a sort of Pusan perimeter all by himself.
Pinker is great and his focus on the biological aspects of human behavior is commendable. I love all of his work. However, his take on the role of parenting in the rearing of children continues to challenge me. While the data he cites may be impeccable, anyone who has worked with families their entire career (as I have ) know there is something wrong with his analysis on this front. As Rob Henderson noted when you dig down ow into the molecular anatomy of an apple you will not find red, despite the apple being red. There is some emergent quality between the data and reality --- or I dare say "lived experience"--- that is missing in his analysis. That is the question I've love him or others to explore. As for me, the data does not tell the whole story.
I find interesting that some who do not deny the material realities of the body can end up in essentially the same political camp. I am thinking about the determinists who wish to let everyone know that there is no basis for holding anyone responsible for their acts and want to hold societies responsible if they fail to structure society based on that fact.
My only question for Professor Pinker is this: If you knew that John Money's experiment with the Reimer boys was based on this false blank slate concept, and the concept has sweeping potential for societal damage, did you call out Money, Blanchard, Zucker and all those in real time? These twins were not Jewish and David Reimer was not subjected to a botched circumcision, but rather a botched childhood surgery to correct a penile malformation. Money, a sexual predator who used his grad students sexually and photographed children in sexual play acting, used the Reimer boys to "prove" his theory that sexual identity is learned. Thus David, whose penis was tragically damaged, could be raised "as a girl." No surprise with the deaths by suicide of the Reimer twins. Why, in debates with gender ideologues, aren't these basic facts brought out into the light of day? And how is it that the abuses of women by "trans women" and their diagnosing doctors took this long to see sunlight?