--- title: "7 Claims Quotes By Steven Pinker" description: "7 Claims quotes by Steven Pinker. Plus more from Steven Pinker and more Claims sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/steven-pinker-526_claims_as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-o_26982.jpg" --- > [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/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/steven-pinker-526_claims_as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-o_26982.jpg) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power…](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/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/steven-pinker-526_acknowledge_when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-though_38868.jpg) > [Equality is not the empirical claim that all groups of humans are interchangeable; it is the moral principle that individuals should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/equality-is-not-the-empirical-claim-that-all-groups-of-humans-are/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/steven-pinker-526_average_equality-is-not-the-empirical-claim-that_532997.jpg) > [Sex and excretion are reminders that anyone's claim to round-the-clock dignity is tenuous. The so-called rational animal has a desperate drive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/sex-and-excretion-are-reminders-that-anyone-s-claim-to-round-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/steven-pinker-526_animal_sex-and-excretion-are-reminders-that-any_1040743.jpg) > [If we are not to abandon values such as peace and equality, or our commitments to science and truth, then we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/if-we-are-not-to-abandon-values-such-as-peace-and-equality-or-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/steven-pinker-526_abandon_if-we-are-not-to-abandon-values-such-as_1847801.jpg) > [Some people think that evolutionary psychology claims to have discovered that human nature is selfish and wicked. But they are flattering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/some-people-think-that-evolutionary-psychology-claims-to-have-2/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/steven-pinker-526_bad-dream_some-people-think-that-evolutionary-psyc_1927631.jpg) > [People today sometimes get uncomfortable with empirical claims that seem to clash with their political assumptions, often because they haven't given much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/people-today-sometimes-get-uncomfortable-with-empirical-claims-that/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/steven-pinker-526_claims_people-today-sometimes-get-uncomfortable_2663563.jpg) ## Other authors on Claims ## 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/claims/steven-pinker/#itemlist", "name": "7 Claims Quotes By Steven Pinker", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-out-commitment-to-political/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/steven-pinker-526_claims_as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-o_26982.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/steven-pinker-526_claims_as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-o_26982.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/steven-pinker-526_claims_as-many-political-writers-have-pointed-o_26982.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock. 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