--- title: "17 Biology Quotes By Steven Pinker" description: "17 Biology quotes by Steven Pinker. Plus more from Steven Pinker and more Biology sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/steven-pinker-526_biology_the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-n_172709.jpg" --- > [The typical imperative from biology is not "Thou shalt... ," but "If ... then ... else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-not-thou-shalt-but-if-then-else/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/steven-pinker-526_biology_the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-n_172709.jpg) > [Of course the theory of evolution would be vacuous if it offered a glib explanation for every inexplicable act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/of-course-the-theory-of-evolution-would-be-vacuous-if-it-offered-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/steven-pinker-526_atheism_of-course-the-theory-of-evolution-would_2807768.jpg) > [Thinking is a physical process, the human brain is not exempt from evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/thinking-is-a-physical-process-the-human-brain-is-not-exempt-from/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/steven-pinker-526_biology_thinking-is-a-physical-process-the-human_674664.jpg) > [Most intellectuals today have a phobia of any explanation of the mind that invokes genetics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/most-intellectuals-today-have-a-phobia-of-any-explanation-of-the-mind/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/steven-pinker-526_biology_most-intellectuals-today-have-a-phobia-o_213174.jpg) > [“Organisms are selected to deploy violence only in circumstances where the expected benefits outweigh the expected costs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/organisms-are-selected-to-deploy-violence-only-in-circumstances-where/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/steven-pinker-526_benefits_organisms-are-selected-to-deploy-violenc_2865995.jpg) > [Natural selection is not the only process that changes organisms over time. But is the only process that seemingly designs organisms over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/natural-selection-is-not-the-only-process-that-changes-organisms-over/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/steven-pinker-526_biology_natural-selection-is-not-the-only-proces_2205032.jpg) > [“Contrary to popular belief, the gene-centered theory of evolution does not imply that the point of all human striving is to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/contrary-to-popular-belief-the-gene-centered-theory-of-evolution-does/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/steven-pinker-526_biology_contrary-to-popular-belief-the-gene-cent_2303354.jpg) > [Equity feminism is a moral doctrine about equal treatment that makes no commitments regarding open empirical issues in psychology or biology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/equity-feminism-is-a-moral-doctrine-about-equal-treatment-that-makes/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/steven-pinker-526_biology_equity-feminism-is-a-moral-doctrine-abou_1332113.jpg) > [Just as blueprints don't necessarily specify blue buildings, selfish genes don't necessarily specify selfish organisms. As we shall see, sometimes the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-specify-blue-buildings-selfish/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg) > [I have never been a fan of science fiction. For me, fiction has to explore the combinatorial possibilities of people interacting under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-fiction-for-me-fiction-has-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/steven-pinker-526_biology_i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-ficti_267301.jpg) > [Human evolution, at first, seems extraordinary. How could the process that gave rise to slugs and oak trees and fish produce a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/human-evolution-at-first-seems-extraordinary-how-could-the-process/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/steven-pinker-526_biology_human-evolution-at-first-seems-extraordi_3012618.jpg) > [In a high tech world the cure for the tragic shortcomings and perilous fallacies of human intuition is education, but education in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-and/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/steven-pinker-526_biology_in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tr_2783175.jpg) > [One can choose to obsess over prescriptive rules, but they have no more to do with human language than the criteria for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/one-can-choose-to-obsess-over-prescriptive-rules-but-they-have-no/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/steven-pinker-526_biology_one-can-choose-to-obsess-over-prescripti_1980629.jpg) > [When a scientist considers all high-tech mental machinery needed to arrange words into ordinary sentences, prescriptive rules are, at best, inconsequential little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-a-scientist-considers-all-high-tech-mental-machinery-needed-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/steven-pinker-526_aliens_when-a-scientist-considers-all-high-tech_1095189.jpg) > [It's the old idea that the process of evolution is some push in the direction of greater complexity--in particular greater intellectual complexity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/it-s-the-old-idea-that-the-process-of-evolution-is-some-push-in-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/steven-pinker-526_advantage_it-s-the-old-idea-that-the-process-of-ev_3217825.jpg) > [“Many people think that the theory of the selfish gene says that “animals try to spread their genes.” That misstates the facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the-selfish-gene-says-that/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/steven-pinker-526_biology_many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the_674880.jpg) > [Evolution is an indispensable component of any satisfying explanation of our psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/evolution-is-an-indispensable-component-of-any-satisfying-explanation/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/steven-pinker-526_biology_evolution-is-an-indispensable-component_659173.jpg) ## Other authors on Biology - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-dawkins-78503.jpg) Richard Dawkins 67 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/richard-dawkins/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-stephen-jay-gould-87041.jpg) Stephen Jay Gould 40 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/stephen-jay-gould/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b008/author-e-o-wilson-31102.jpg) E. O. Wilson 29 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/e-o-wilson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-yuval-noah-harari-100.jpg) Yuval Noah Harari 26 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/yuval-noah-harari/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-siddhartha-mukherjee-85288.jpg) Siddhartha Mukherjee 25 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/siddhartha-mukherjee/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-carl-sagan-20994.jpg) Carl Sagan 21 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/carl-sagan/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-75655.jpg) Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 20 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b002/author-frances-arnold-5774.jpg) Frances Arnold 20 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/frances-arnold/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-neil-degrasse-tyson-70683.jpg) Neil deGrasse Tyson 19 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/neil-degrasse-tyson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bill-nye-18005.jpg) Bill Nye 18 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/bill-nye/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-ernst-mayr-33893.jpg) Ernst Mayr 16 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/ernst-mayr/) - [Elliott Sober 14 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/elliott-sober/) ## More by Steven Pinker > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Consistent style prevents presentation from getting in the way of content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/consistent-style-prevents-presentation-from-getting-in-the-way-of/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [The supposedly immaterial soul, we now know, can be bisected with a knife, altered by chemicals, started or stopped by electricity, and extinguished by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-supposedly-immaterial-soul-we-now-know-can-be-bisected-with-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I've never argued that humans are massively hot-wired. What I was trying to point out was that you can't understand how we learn unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-ve-never-argued-that-humans-are-massively-hot-wired-what-i-was/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Since violence is largely a male pastime, cultures that empower women tend to move away from the glorification of violence and are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/since-violence-is-largely-a-male-pastime-cultures-that-empower-women/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Morality is not just any old topic in psychology but close to our conception of the meaning of life. Moral goodness is what gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/morality-is-not-just-any-old-topic-in-psychology-but-close-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The biblical story of the binding of Isaac shows that human sacrifice was far from unthinkable in the 1st millennium BCE. The Israelites boasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-biblical-story-of-the-binding-of-isaac-shows-that-human-sacrifice/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/part-of-the-bargain-of-being-alive-is-that-one-takes-a-chance-at/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [In fact, without a specification of a creature's goals, the very idea of intelligence is meaningless. A toadstool could be given a genius award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-fact-without-a-specification-of-a-creature-s-goals-the-very-idea/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-of-human-intuition-in-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [If you look in general at people who live in anarchy, they have quite high rates of death from either homicide or warfare or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-you-look-in-general-at-people-who-live-in-anarchy-they-have-quite/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“In some eras, self-control defines the paragon of a decent person: a grown-up, a person of dignity, a lady or a gentleman, a mensch.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-some-eras-self-control-defines-the-paragon-of-a-decent-person-a/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/knowledge-is-a-continuous-fabric-in-which-ideas-are-connected-to/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/#itemlist", "name": "17 Biology Quotes By Steven Pinker", "numberOfItems": 17, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The typical imperative from biology is not \"Thou shalt... ,\" but \"If ... then ... else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-not-thou-shalt-but-if-then-else/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/steven-pinker-526_biology_the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-n_172709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/steven-pinker-526_biology_the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-n_172709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/steven-pinker-526_biology_the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-n_172709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The typical imperative from biology is not \"Thou shalt... ,\" but \"If ... then ... else.” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course the theory of evolution would be vacuous if it offered a glib explanation for every inexplicable act.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/of-course-the-theory-of-evolution-would-be-vacuous-if-it-offered-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/steven-pinker-526_atheism_of-course-the-theory-of-evolution-would_2807768.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/steven-pinker-526_atheism_of-course-the-theory-of-evolution-would_2807768.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00f/steven-pinker-526_atheism_of-course-the-theory-of-evolution-would_2807768.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of course the theory of evolution would be vacuous if it offered a glib explanation for every inexplicable…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thinking is a physical process, the human brain is not exempt from evolution", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/thinking-is-a-physical-process-the-human-brain-is-not-exempt-from/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/steven-pinker-526_biology_thinking-is-a-physical-process-the-human_674664.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/steven-pinker-526_biology_thinking-is-a-physical-process-the-human_674664.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/steven-pinker-526_biology_thinking-is-a-physical-process-the-human_674664.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thinking is a physical process, the human brain is not exempt from evolution” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most intellectuals today have a phobia of any explanation of the mind that invokes genetics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/most-intellectuals-today-have-a-phobia-of-any-explanation-of-the-mind/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/steven-pinker-526_biology_most-intellectuals-today-have-a-phobia-o_213174.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/steven-pinker-526_biology_most-intellectuals-today-have-a-phobia-o_213174.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/770/steven-pinker-526_biology_most-intellectuals-today-have-a-phobia-o_213174.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most intellectuals today have a phobia of any explanation of the mind that invokes genetics.” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Organisms are selected to deploy violence only in circumstances where the expected benefits outweigh the expected costs.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/organisms-are-selected-to-deploy-violence-only-in-circumstances-where/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/steven-pinker-526_benefits_organisms-are-selected-to-deploy-violenc_2865995.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/steven-pinker-526_benefits_organisms-are-selected-to-deploy-violenc_2865995.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2c/steven-pinker-526_benefits_organisms-are-selected-to-deploy-violenc_2865995.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Organisms are selected to deploy violence only in circumstances where the expected benefits outweigh the…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Natural selection is not the only process that changes organisms over time. But is the only process that seemingly designs organisms over time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/natural-selection-is-not-the-only-process-that-changes-organisms-over/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/steven-pinker-526_biology_natural-selection-is-not-the-only-proces_2205032.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/steven-pinker-526_biology_natural-selection-is-not-the-only-proces_2205032.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/steven-pinker-526_biology_natural-selection-is-not-the-only-proces_2205032.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Natural selection is not the only process that changes organisms over time. But is the only process that…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Contrary to popular belief, the gene-centered theory of evolution does not imply that the point of all human striving is to spread our genes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/contrary-to-popular-belief-the-gene-centered-theory-of-evolution-does/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/steven-pinker-526_biology_contrary-to-popular-belief-the-gene-cent_2303354.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/steven-pinker-526_biology_contrary-to-popular-belief-the-gene-cent_2303354.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4d/steven-pinker-526_biology_contrary-to-popular-belief-the-gene-cent_2303354.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Contrary to popular belief, the gene-centered theory of evolution does not imply that the point of all human…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Equity feminism is a moral doctrine about equal treatment that makes no commitments regarding open empirical issues in psychology or biology.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/equity-feminism-is-a-moral-doctrine-about-equal-treatment-that-makes/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/steven-pinker-526_biology_equity-feminism-is-a-moral-doctrine-abou_1332113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/steven-pinker-526_biology_equity-feminism-is-a-moral-doctrine-abou_1332113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a33/steven-pinker-526_biology_equity-feminism-is-a-moral-doctrine-abou_1332113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Equity feminism is a moral doctrine about equal treatment that makes no commitments regarding open empirical…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Just as blueprints don't necessarily specify blue buildings, selfish genes don't necessarily specify selfish organisms. As we shall see, sometimes the most selfish thing a gene can do is build a selfless brain. Genes are a play within a play, not the interior monologue of the players.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-specify-blue-buildings-selfish/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just as blueprints don't necessarily specify blue buildings, selfish genes don't necessarily specify selfish…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never been a fan of science fiction. For me, fiction has to explore the combinatorial possibilities of people interacting under the constraints imposed by our biology and history. When an author is free to suspend the constraints, it's tennis without a net.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-fiction-for-me-fiction-has-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/steven-pinker-526_biology_i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-ficti_267301.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/steven-pinker-526_biology_i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-ficti_267301.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/steven-pinker-526_biology_i-have-never-been-a-fan-of-science-ficti_267301.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never been a fan of science fiction. For me, fiction has to explore the combinatorial possibilities…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human evolution, at first, seems extraordinary. How could the process that gave rise to slugs and oak trees and fish produce a creature that can fly to the moon and invent the Internet and cross the ocean in boats?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/human-evolution-at-first-seems-extraordinary-how-could-the-process/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/steven-pinker-526_biology_human-evolution-at-first-seems-extraordi_3012618.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/steven-pinker-526_biology_human-evolution-at-first-seems-extraordi_3012618.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/steven-pinker-526_biology_human-evolution-at-first-seems-extraordi_3012618.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human evolution, at first, seems extraordinary. How could the process that gave rise to slugs and oak trees…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a high tech world the cure for the tragic shortcomings and perilous fallacies of human intuition is education, but education in economics, evolutionary biology, probability and statistics - unfortunately most High School and College curricula have barely changed since Medieval times!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/steven-pinker-526_biology_in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tr_2783175.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/steven-pinker-526_biology_in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tr_2783175.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/steven-pinker-526_biology_in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tr_2783175.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a high tech world the cure for the tragic shortcomings and perilous fallacies of human intuition is…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One can choose to obsess over prescriptive rules, but they have no more to do with human language than the criteria for judging cats at a cat show have to do with mammalian biology.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/one-can-choose-to-obsess-over-prescriptive-rules-but-they-have-no/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/steven-pinker-526_biology_one-can-choose-to-obsess-over-prescripti_1980629.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/steven-pinker-526_biology_one-can-choose-to-obsess-over-prescripti_1980629.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c7/steven-pinker-526_biology_one-can-choose-to-obsess-over-prescripti_1980629.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One can choose to obsess over prescriptive rules, but they have no more to do with human language than the…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a scientist considers all high-tech mental machinery needed to arrange words into ordinary sentences, prescriptive rules are, at best, inconsequential little decorations. The very fact that they have to be drilled shows that they are alien to the natural workings of the language system. One can choose to obsess over prescriptive rules, but they have no more to do with language than the criteria for judging cats at a cat show have to do with mammalian biology.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-a-scientist-considers-all-high-tech-mental-machinery-needed-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/steven-pinker-526_aliens_when-a-scientist-considers-all-high-tech_1095189.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/steven-pinker-526_aliens_when-a-scientist-considers-all-high-tech_1095189.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/steven-pinker-526_aliens_when-a-scientist-considers-all-high-tech_1095189.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a scientist considers all high-tech mental machinery needed to arrange words into ordinary sentences…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's the old idea that the process of evolution is some push in the direction of greater complexity--in particular greater intellectual complexity. In one twig of the tree of life, namely ours, having a big brain happened to have advantages. But that's just what worked for a particular species of primate 5 to 7 million years ago.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/it-s-the-old-idea-that-the-process-of-evolution-is-some-push-in-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/steven-pinker-526_advantage_it-s-the-old-idea-that-the-process-of-ev_3217825.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/steven-pinker-526_advantage_it-s-the-old-idea-that-the-process-of-ev_3217825.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b86/steven-pinker-526_advantage_it-s-the-old-idea-that-the-process-of-ev_3217825.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's the old idea that the process of evolution is some push in the direction of greater complexity--in…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Many people think that the theory of the selfish gene says that “animals try to spread their genes.” That misstates the facts and it misstates the theory. Animals, including most people, know nothing about genetics and care even less. People love their children not because they want to spread their genes (consciously or unconsciously) but because they can’t help it. That love makes them try to keep their children warm, fed, and safe. What is selfish is not the real motives of the person but the metaphorical motives of the genes that built the person. Genes “try” to spread themselves by wiring animals’ brains so the animals love their kin and try to keep warm, fed, and safe.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the-selfish-gene-says-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/steven-pinker-526_biology_many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the_674880.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/steven-pinker-526_biology_many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the_674880.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/steven-pinker-526_biology_many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the_674880.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many people think that the theory of the selfish gene says that “animals try to spread their genes.” That…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Evolution is an indispensable component of any satisfying explanation of our psychology.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/evolution-is-an-indispensable-component-of-any-satisfying-explanation/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/steven-pinker-526_biology_evolution-is-an-indispensable-component_659173.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/steven-pinker-526_biology_evolution-is-an-indispensable-component_659173.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e6/steven-pinker-526_biology_evolution-is-an-indispensable-component_659173.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Evolution is an indispensable component of any satisfying explanation of our psychology.” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/", "name": "Biology Quotes by Steven Pinker", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/steven-pinker-526_biology_the-typical-imperative-from-biology-is-n_172709.jpg" }, "description": "17 Biology quotes by Steven Pinker. Plus more from Steven Pinker and more Biology sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Biology", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Steven Pinker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/steven-pinker/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```