SOC 4010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Steven Pinker, The Talented Tenth, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
2 Dec 2018
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-the decline in violence is like a fractal. -each step smaller than one before but building upon it: pacification & the leviathan, gentle commerce, the civilizing process : deliberate, reflective efforts to civilize the savage beast. -difference types of settlers brought different cultural norms to different areas southern english, dutch, german went to north-east. -current occupations encouraged self-help justice (herding more in south) -past culture played a role (herding for scots, cracker immigrants from mountainous areas) -women came west and demanded social change (charities, schools, marriage, temperance) -not only are more peaceful and longterm-oriented men more likely to marry, but marriage civilizes men. -being more considerate of others, controlling impulses, and longterm calculation reduces violence. --cutlery, hygiene, & manners: represent respect for others and reflexivity (see ourselves as others see us) -we reduce opportunities for violence ahead of time and reduce motivations for anger and find ways to control it and assert our dignity.
