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The Darker Angels of Our Nature

Refuting the Pinker Theory of History & Violence
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Darker Angels of Our Nature by various contributors, explores the complexities of human conflict and violence throughout history. It challenges the notion that societies are becoming inherently more peaceful, examining the myriad social, political, and cultural factors that have driven military conflicts. Through historical analysis, the book offers fresh insights into the darker aspects of human nature and the persisting power struggles that shape our world.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're interested in challenging the notion that human violence has declined over time. It delves into historical and contemporary conflicts, offering a provocative counter-argument to the optimistic view of an increasingly peaceful world. With insights into human nature and society's complexities, this read may appeal to those who appreciate a nuanced look at the darker aspects of history and military affairs.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In The Better Angels of Our Nature, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argued that modern history has witnessed a dramatic decline in human violence of every kind, and that in the present we are experiencing the most peaceful time in human history. But what do top historians think about Pinker’s reading of the past? Does his argument stand up to historical analysis?

In The Darker Angels of Our Nature, seventeen scholars of international stature evaluate Pinker’s arguments and find them lacking. Studying the history of violence from Japan and Russia to Native America, Medieval England, and the Imperial Middle East, these scholars debunk the myth of non-violent modernity.

Asserting that the real story of human violence is richer, more interesting, and incomparably more complex than Pinker’s sweeping, simplified narrative, this book tests, and bests, ‘fake history’ with expert knowledge.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Darker Angels of Our Nature is a collection of essays that critically examines Steven Pinker's thesis on the decline of violence. Featuring contributions from distinguished academics, the book challenges Pinker's conclusions, providing an incisive critique of his optimistic views on historical violence. The essays invite readers to reconsider the historical conditions and evidence shaping arguments about violence, offering fresh perspectives on the role of violence in human history.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350140592

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 September 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Illustration: 8 bw illus

Contributors:

  • Edited by Philip Dwyer
  • Edited by Mark Micale

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 150.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 640g

Pages: 416

Collections

Education & Reference Global History History & Archaeology History & Military Military History Non-Fiction

About the Author

Philip Dwyer is Professor of History and the founding Director of the Centre for the History of Violence at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He has published widely on the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, including a three-volume biography of Napoleon.

Mark Micale is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, USA. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Beyond the Unconscious; Discovering the History of Psychiatry; Traumatic Pasts: History, Psychiatry, and Trauma in the Modern Age, 1870-1930; The Mind of Modernism: Medicine, Psychology, and the Cultural Arts in Europe and America, 1880-1940; and Hysterical Men: The Hidden History of Male Nervous Illness, and Traumatic Pasts in Asia: History, Psychiatry, and Trauma from the 1930s to the Present (forthcoming).

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