I teach classes 28 weeks of the year, but the rest of the time I do research and write books.
Steven PinkerAll our behaviours are a result of neurophysiological activity in the brain. There is no reason to believe there is any magic going on.
Steven PinkerI think a lot of moral debates are not over what is the basis of justice, but who gets a ticket to play in the game.
Steven PinkerNatural selection is not the only process that changes organisms over time. But is the only process that seemingly designs organisms over time.
Steven PinkerIn fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award for accomplishing with pinpoint precision and unerring reliability, the feat of sitting exactly where it is sitting. Nothing would prevent us from agreeing with the cognitive scientist Zenon Pylyshyn that rocks are smarter than cats because rocks have the sense to go away when you kick them.
Steven Pinker