Steven Pinker

Enlightenment is the responsibility to use reason to improve the human condition.

Grammar is destiny.

Violence is not inevitable; it's a solvable problem.

The sense of style is the ability to write clearly and engagingly.

Human rights are not a luxury; they are the foundation of progress.

Evolution designed us to be parochial and tribal, but we can overcome that.

Writing is thinking on paper.

The tabula rasa is a myth.

Data is the new scripture.

Empathy is the engine of morality.

The brain is not a computer; it's a massively parallel processor.

Progress requires optimism grounded in evidence.

Noble savage is a romantic fiction.

Style is the art of conveying complexity with clarity.

Reason triumphs over dogma.

Language evolves like a living organism.

The decline in violence is humanity's greatest achievement.

We are wired for storytelling.

Humanism celebrates human potential.

The mind is what the brain does.