#619 Philip Dwyer The Darker Angels of Our Nature: Refuting the Pinker Theory of History & Violence
RECORDED ON JANUARY 31st 2022.
Dr. Philip Dwyer is Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He has published widely on the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, including a three-volume biography of Napoleon. He is the general editor of a four volume Cambridge World History of Violence, and co-editor of the Cambridge History of the Napoleonic Wars. He is the editor of The Darker Angels of Our Nature: Refuting the Pinker Theory of History & Violence.
In this episode, we focus on The Darker Angels of Our Nature. We present Steven Pinker’s argument about trends in violence across history. We then define “violence”, and talk about the limitations of historical sources of data. We talk about forms of violence that apparently have been on the rise recently. We discuss how to deal with death tolls in war. We talk about the historical and cultural context of violence, Norbert Elias’ “civilizing process”, and the Enlightenment. Finally, we talk about factors identified by historians that play a role in violence trends, and ask if it is possible to objectively say that there has been moral progress.
Time Links:
Intro
Pinker’s argument about trends in violence across history
Defining “violence”
The limitations of historical sources
Exaggerating violence in the past
Forms of violence on the rise
The death tolls of the World Wars
The historical and cultural context of violence
Norbert Elias’ “civilizing process”?
The Enlightenment
Factors that influence violence trends
Has there been moral progress?
Follow Dr. Dwyer’s work!
Follow Dr. Dwyer’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3ImHyex
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/33Azh86
The Darker Angels of Our Nature: https://amzn.to/3AgkYRW