Enlightenment, Democracy, & Hope for Humanity (Pt. 2) | Steven Pinker | ACADEMIA | Rubin Report

40 thoughts on “Enlightenment, Democracy, & Hope for Humanity (Pt. 2) | Steven Pinker | ACADEMIA | Rubin Report”

1. I like Pinker for the most part but the section on guns was painful to watch. He says that it's ridiculous to think about shooting back at the police, then mentions how in some countries you can be hauled away by the police for criticizing your political leaders. I hate to break it to you Pinker, but that is EXACTLY the point of the 2nd Amendment. Should such things as you mentioned happening in Venezuela or Turkey occur in the U.S., that is precisely when it is reasonable to use force against the Police. Thankfully that is not necessary at the moment, (as in Western countries in general the systems of checks and balances are operating at least reasonably well) but thinking it will definitely never be is naive.

2. Everybody in the comments seem to hate on Pinker only because he doesn't share your views on the 2nd amendment. Suddenly everything else he said must be a fraud. Lol americans and their guns.

3. The first thing the Nazis did was take away people's guns.

4. i think both of these guys are smart and discuss things in a civl manner.

5. 1970s oil crisis? really? how about opep collusion with Kissinger?

6. nobody is perfect. Not Pinker either. But the simple fact is that if you don't recognize an innate Divinity within human life that is waking Up…then you're not gonna see clearly things as they are: getting good, fast. And one day: Extremely Great :-).

7. Steven Pinker is an absolutely amazing man, I like everything about him, the way he speaks, manners, politeness, the calmness of his voice it's all, in summary, making a great picture of greatly educated, reasonable, calm and pleasant gentleman that is cool to listen to, his ideas is the most progressive in the real sense of this word, he got a very broad area of knowledge and understanding of the processes in the world in different domains, that's kind of people we need to learn from.

8. I was able to listen until he said "…that's why we have this thing called democracy…". Never mind that every single "civilized" nation that has outlawed civilian use of guns has crime equal to, or higher than, the USA when those figures are proportioned for population difference.

   To come at it from a different angle, if personal safety/security doesn't start and end with the individual, then why don't we put our faith in the government to protect us from STDs and unwanted pregnancies instead of wearing condoms and using birth control?

   Simply put, if the time comes where guns are needed to oppose a tyrannical government or ruling body, then it stands to reason that the time when voting by other means would affect change are long past valid consideration. One can argue that the only reason Canada was able to negotiate for their independence was because England had already been beaten once and didn't wish to be again so soon.

9. Steve Jobs dreamed of putting the Internet in every idiot's hand.
   The end.

10. Once a rube always a rube

11. If people would step outside of their tribal mentality and outside of the mindless blathering on social media and actually look at what some of the gun control advocates are lobbying for, they might find that it's reasonable and they might even agree with some of these measures that could save a few lives. Most gun owners do agree when polled on individual issues, yet Republican gun owners see the Democratic Party as a threat to gun ownership. There's no evidence that this is the case. Obama never took anyone's gun and our court system has repeatedly sided with the constitutional right to own a gun.

    It's the NRA and its marriage to the Republican Party that has made it impossible to even debate the issue. Even a Republican politician who might support some reasonable measures cannot dare voice this support, the right-wing media will destroy them. Plenty of liberals are anti-gun on social media but this has nothing to do with actually getting legislation passed. Legislation like what Reagan supported back in the day.

12. One of the most sane people on earth. Bravo.

13. Oh dear, Pinker has faith in modern democracy and says that's why we shouldn't be worried about Authoritarian Govts. He obviously hasn't lived in the UK under the EU all his life and seen the democratic rights of Europeans sucked up by an ever more Authoritarian EU that ignores and reverses Referenda for fun & thinks Qualified Majority Voting and the way the Lisbon Treaty was forced through is "democracy". And I haven't started on the way the Communications Act Section 127 is being used to destroy free speech in the UK or how our "democratic Govt" in tandem with the police suppressed the truth about Muslim rape gangs for DECADES! So, Mr.Pinker, let me say I used to think like you, but now I wish I owned a gun because UK society, my democratic rights, and my right to complain about both are all being shredded.

14. I know it seems ridiculous to a lot of people that so many Americans would be armed and willing to oppose a tyrannical American government, but the problem is that once a populace is disarmed, there's no easy path back, and despite whatever facade of advancement and civility the government may maintain, it's easier to head down the path of tyranny when all you need to do is shut down nonviolent sources of contrary viewpoints, as opposed to sending police and military into armed conflict against their countrymen.

    And I think the government doubts they can count on the full support of the military and police, were the situation to become that dire, coupled with the threat of enemies outside the gates who would love to see us divided. There's an arrogance on the left that we've somehow advanced beyond the possibility of war, and I think that subconsciously it derives from our size, wealth and technological edge. That's when you employ agents provocateurs to find anything and everything that could be turned into a culture war, and fan those flames.

    Or maybe it's the government giving us so many pointless outlets to voice our opinions, knowing that it will keep us from doing useful things in places where it matters. Hell, I'm doing that right now, despite my suspicions, though to be fair, I only do this during down time at work. I try not to think nefariously, because at the end of the day, if you're responsible for the health of a state, you do what you can to maintain it without causing bigger problems. And I don't think it's a moustache-twirling master plan, but more of a thing happening and observant people in the government saying, "Oh, look at that. We can use that. Make more of it happen." I love my country and if I was responsible for its safeguarding I'd do what I could to keep the boners busy and doing as little harm to others and themselves as possible.

    It's been a slow morning at work.

15. Dave, if you're reading this, it would be very interesting to invite Noam Chomsky to The Rubin Report!

16. It's amazing that such a gentle man can trigger people XD

17. Well uniformed, Pinker at 9:17. Science (the CDC) admits it has not studied vaccines and long-term negative effects as well as lying by omission when scientific results contradicted their agenda. It looks like you are presenting fake news. Shame!

18. dat hair

19. Dave – wanted to take a moment to credit your interview style. You ask thoughtful, open ended questions and then you sit back to give your guest the opportunity to speak and respond freely. MSM should certainly take a lesson from your approach and format. Hearty Kudos.

20. On many statistics, Pinker always finds a way to say “let’s look at the bright side!” Today the percentage of people in poverty in the US is about half of what it was by the end of the fifties. Great! But wait – the number people in poverty has more than doubled, while the number of Americans doubled. Similar with homelessness, and much worse with untreated mental health. At the same time the institutions that deal with these issues, social workers, folks who help with food stamps and winter heating cost support, are almost gone, their offices consolidated and their budgets slashed more and more. The only thing left until the end is a bunch of bureaucrats, and even those are replaced more and more by online methods. Often not accessible, most of that is about catching 22. If you are poor and want help you better get your papers in order, in fact you need to be spanking clean. In some states you even have to pee in the cup because of “war on drugs” and “war on poverty” ideology. The main method to reduce poverty in America is by making it more and more complicated to be poor. Oh you didn’t file a tax return last year – well too bad, go to hell. Fewer and fewer of the overburdened caseworkers are friendly, this atmosphere is poisonous, with the exceptions of a few good souls who actually care. Anyone who becomes depressed or down trodden is likely to just give up. A society that gave in to the belief that poverty is just a little problem, and only somehow spoils the pretty view, is bound to give the task of solving the problem to people with insufficient understanding with low pay, or to experts who can create just the right kind of data needed to confirm the sugarcoating and whitewashing of social reality, which the politicians in charge prefer to confirm the success of their policies.

21. "Outsourcing" protection to the government sounds workable in a safe, intellectual discussion. However, when a door is getting kicked down at 2 a.m. I will still prefer to rely on Smith and Wesson until government law enforcement arrives.

22. I dont belive pro gun creates crime i really thjnk its the other way around … ppl will be more afraid to break jnto a house or to rob a store if they knew theres a good possibility that the ppl in there have guns and id like to see serious studies on it im open to have my mind changed always but id like to see stats

23. I wouldn't invest any trust in Pinker. He's wrong on more things than he's right. Not only does he have a childish understanding of the second amendment, apparently he thinks transferring money from our pockets to someone that doesn't work is a solution to poverty; "progress".

24. Pinker has far too much faith in his own statistics.

25. I wish he would look at a particular stat nationwide: How many law abiding gun owners intervened in a crime to save someone's life
    or thwarted a robbery or saved their own life (home invasion) over the last 5 years. Secondarily, if you go with the premise that most people
    are good caring people, why wouldn't a nationwide gun education and safety program prove effective in decreasing gun violence. Government
    mandated of course, so he could feel good about it. 🤔

26. They are dead wrong on gun control policies. Just ask China, , Venezuela ect.

27. I am going to buy 2 new guns

28. Rubin so such a right winger caught in his own beliefs, he does not think in a progressive way and differs from most humanists in the sense that he dislikes governments playing a role in society

29. Fucking americans and their guns.

30. Many of the most valuable legacies of the Enlightenment are under threat in the 21st century. In the constant struggles to influence public policy and decision making, the most disturbing trend is the increasing rejection of reason and evidence in favour of the expression of emotions such as fear, frustration, resentment, and anger. This is producing rising levels of irrationality and absurdity in public discourse and decision making. If you are interested, go to thesleepofreason.net where you will find a wide range of articles examining the consequences of this disturbing trend as well as looking at what we need to do about it.

31. Great interview but I believe pinker isn’t analazying the issue with having guns against government over reach . It’s a legitimate reason . The facts the fore fathers knew that an arm population keeps the government accountable against itself is brilliant . Confiscation always leads to governments totalitarianism eventually .

32. I pretty much agree with everything that Pinker says. Yes, our society has a lot of good stuff going for it. Yes, it's crazy to talk about shooting back at police. Government can be good or bad or ineffective, but take an even approach to assessing it, and some things only government can accomplish. Rubin can't get him to agree that government is bad, kind of funny.

33. what's so terrible going on in that Turkey?

34. Hello, hello? We DON'T have a democracy, we have a REPUBLIC! And it's the Progressive movement that usurped the Republic and convinced everyone we're supposed to be a democracy. Read the Founders opinions on democracy. They were not fans.

    I found Pinker's ideas thoughtful and interesting, though I didn't agree with some of what he said. For example, infectious diseases are down, but at what cost? Autoimmune diseases are way up, probably from the very things that have driven the rate of infectious diseases down. And btw, we didn't eliminate smallpox, as only 10% of the world was ever vaccinated. It died a natural death. Most (but not all) serious infectious diseases have a lifetime and then they disappear from view.

35. Steven Pinker thinks on another level. Great interview.

36. It is nuts to fight against the government? Oh yeah, he is from Canada. Tell it to George Washington.

37. Cultural Marxist Pinker would like your children to be skinned alive and fed slowly into furnaces. Don't be fooled – He is an advocate for Bolshevism.

38. Pinker, is very (VERY) collectivist. Economically he's a typical Keynesian, and he wants so "solve" everything inside the existing "system", which is pretty much rotten to the bone. He talks about free markets but he doesn't want it. He want's state controlled (regulated) markets, which is the main reason for corruption, in politics and business. People like him should never have power, but he's a brilliant critic.

39. 20 Donkeys of all Time
    1. Steven Pinker
    2. Ken Ham
    3. Richard Dawkins
    4. Stephan Molyneux
    5. John Bolton
    6. Hugo Chavez
    7. Jeremy Corbyn
    8. Jair Bolsonaro
    9. Nicholas Maduro
    10. Christopher Hitchens
    11. William Jennings Bryan
    12. Sam Harris
    13. Ben Shapiro
    14. Jordan Peterson
    15. David Cameron
    16. Victor Stenger
    17. Karl Marx
    18. Sigmund Freud
    19. Eric Dubay
    20. Mark Sargent

40. I'd just like to say that when he talked about the availability heuristic, as an AP Psych student (not even in college yet) I knew what he was talking about. I feel knowledgable lmfao.

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