January 2003 - Division of Medical Sciences Bulletin - Harvard ...

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Volume VII, Number 1 - January 2003
Book Review: The Blank Slate
By Allan M. Gurtan
In his newest book, The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker offers an
analysis of the "Nature versus Nurture" debate. Pinker, a Professor
of Psychology at MIT, is known for his research in linguistics and
visual perception. He has written several books on cognition,
including How the Mind Works and Learnability and Cognition.
The book begins with a broad historical overview. The Blank Slate is
framed by a discussion of three conceptually related doctrines that,
according to Pinker, have been particularly influential on the nature/
nurture debate. The doctrine of "The Blank Slate" was formulated by
the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) and states that every
individual is shaped entirely by experience. The second doctrine,
that of the "noble savage", came from Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778) who perceived humans as inherently selfless and
benevolent creatures better fit to nature than to civilization. The
"Ghost in the Machine", attributed to Rene Descartes (1596-1650),
is the third doctrine and states that the mind exists independently of
the body. The book traces the development of these concepts and
presents the subsequent challenges posed to them by a modern
understanding of human behavior as influenced by psychological,
sociological, and biological studies. In so doing, Pinker presents a
picture in which current data support the role of both the
environment and genetics in determining human behavior.
Pinker then proceeds to explore the moral, social, and political
ramifications of such a conclusion. According to the book, four fears
emerge upon suggestion that genes influence behavior: (a) Genetic
arguments may be used to rationalize social inequality; (b) Social
reform may not be possible if genes "hard-wire" behavior into each
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