--- title: "9 Cognitive Quotes By Steven Pinker" description: "9 Cognitive quotes by Steven Pinker. Plus more from Steven Pinker and more Cognitive sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc2/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_cognitive-psychology-has-shown-that-the_1152851.jpg" --- > [Cognitive psychology has shown that the mind best understands facts when they are woven into a conceptual fabric, such as a narrative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/cognitive-psychology-has-shown-that-the-mind-best-understands-facts/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc2/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_cognitive-psychology-has-shown-that-the_1152851.jpg) > [The reason I'm not a neurobiologist but a cognitive psychologist is that I think looking at brain tissue is often the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-reason-i-m-not-a-neurobiologist-but-a-cognitive-psychologist-is/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c1/steven-pinker-526_analysis_the-reason-i-m-not-a-neurobiologist-but_2833362.jpg) > [Cognitive psychology tells us that the unaided human mind is vulnerable to many fallacies and illusions because of its reliance on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/cognitive-psychology-tells-us-that-the-unaided-human-mind-is/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d4/steven-pinker-526_anecdotes_cognitive-psychology-tells-us-that-the-u_1769278.jpg) > [What is true for the emotions may also be true for the intellect. Some of our perplexities may come from a mismatch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/what-is-true-for-the-emotions-may-also-be-true-for-the-intellect-some/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/steven-pinker-526_being-true_what-is-true-for-the-emotions-may-also-b_2319928.jpg) > [We really are creatures of a violent world, biologically speaking - watching violence and learning about it is one of our cognitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/we-really-are-creatures-of-a-violent-world-biologically-speaking/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_we-really-are-creatures-of-a-violent-wor_698738.jpg) > [Space and force pervade language. Many cognitive scientists (including me) have concluded from their research on language that a handful of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/space-and-force-pervade-language-many-cognitive-scientists-including/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/steven-pinker-526_agency_space-and-force-pervade-language-many-co_3003601.jpg) > [Maybe philosophical problems are hard not because they are divine or irreducible or meaningless or workaday science, but because the mind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/maybe-philosophical-problems-are-hard-not-because-they-are-divine-or/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/steven-pinker-526_angel_maybe-philosophical-problems-are-hard-no_1050141.jpg) > [I spent 20 years doing research on regular and irregular verbs, not because I'm an obsessive language lover but because it seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-spent-20-years-doing-research-on-regular-and-irregular-verbs-not/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_i-spent-20-years-doing-research-on-regul_1990202.jpg) > [The elegant study... is consistent with the themes of modern cognitive neuroscience . Every aspect of thought and emotion is rooted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the-themes-of-modern-cognitive/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/steven-pinker-526_aspect_the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the_1257122.jpg) ## Other authors on Cognitive ## 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/cognitive/steven-pinker/#itemlist", "name": "9 Cognitive Quotes By Steven Pinker", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cognitive psychology has shown that the mind best understands facts when they are woven into a conceptual fabric, such as a narrative, mental map, or intuitive theory. 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Many cognitive scientists (including me) have concluded from their research on language that a handful of concepts about places, paths, motions, agency, and causation underlie the literal or figurative meanings of tens of thousands of words and constructions, not only in English but in every other language that has been studied.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/space-and-force-pervade-language-many-cognitive-scientists-including/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/steven-pinker-526_agency_space-and-force-pervade-language-many-co_3003601.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/steven-pinker-526_agency_space-and-force-pervade-language-many-co_3003601.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/steven-pinker-526_agency_space-and-force-pervade-language-many-co_3003601.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Space and force pervade language. 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Our minds evolved by natural selection to solve problems that were life-and-death matters to our ancestors, not to commune with correctness ot to answer any question we are capable of asking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/maybe-philosophical-problems-are-hard-not-because-they-are-divine-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/steven-pinker-526_angel_maybe-philosophical-problems-are-hard-no_1050141.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/steven-pinker-526_angel_maybe-philosophical-problems-are-hard-no_1050141.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/steven-pinker-526_angel_maybe-philosophical-problems-are-hard-no_1050141.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maybe philosophical problems are hard not because they are divine or irreducible or meaningless or workaday…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent 20 years doing research on regular and irregular verbs, not because I'm an obsessive language lover but because it seemed to me that they tapped into a fundamental distinction in language processing, indeed in cognitive processing, between memory lookup and rule-driven computation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-spent-20-years-doing-research-on-regular-and-irregular-verbs-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_i-spent-20-years-doing-research-on-regul_1990202.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_i-spent-20-years-doing-research-on-regul_1990202.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/steven-pinker-526_cognitive_i-spent-20-years-doing-research-on-regul_1990202.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spent 20 years doing research on regular and irregular verbs, not because I'm an obsessive language lover…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The elegant study... is consistent with the themes of modern cognitive neuroscience . Every aspect of thought and emotion is rooted in brain structure and function, including many psychological disorders and, presumably, genius. The study confirms that the brain is a modular system comprising multiple intelligences, mostly nonverbal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the-themes-of-modern-cognitive/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/steven-pinker-526_aspect_the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the_1257122.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/steven-pinker-526_aspect_the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the_1257122.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/steven-pinker-526_aspect_the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the_1257122.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The elegant study... is consistent with the themes of modern cognitive neuroscience . 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