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The Better Angels of Our Nature
- Why Violence Has Declined
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 36 hrs and 39 mins
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Publisher's summary
“If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this - the most inspiring book I've ever read." - Bill Gates (May, 2017)
Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year
The author of Enlightenment Now and The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought offers a controversial history of violence.
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, programs, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?
This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives - the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away - and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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- Narrated by: Joe Gomez
- Length: 1 hr and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Kierkegaard discusses Genesis 22:1-18, the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. He notes that Abraham was all willing to sacrifice his son in the name of god, without tears or complaint; he simply obeyed. He argues that faith requires passion - something that Abraham clearly had and that you must experience it yourself or you could never truly understand.
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Good content, poor delivery
- By Go On on 12-09-19
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Stumbling on Happiness
- By: Daniel Gilbert
- Narrated by: Daniel Gilbert
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy–and what we can do about it. Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes.
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Great Book!
- By TL on 06-09-06
By: Daniel Gilbert
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Words and Rules
- The Ingredients of Language
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 2000, Words and Rules remains one of Pinker's most provocative and accessible books, illuminating the fascinating relationship between the brain, the mind, and how language makes us humans.
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Amazing how much irregular verbs can teach.
- By Tristan on 04-10-16
By: Steven Pinker
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The Paradox of Choice
- Why More is Less
- By: Barry Schwartz
- Narrated by: Ken Kliban
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counterintuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on the important ones and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.
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The Tyranny of Pop Economics
- By Darwin8u on 10-28-13
By: Barry Schwartz
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On the Genealogy of Morals
- A Polemic
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Duncan Steen
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In On the Genealogy of Morals, subtitled "A Polemic", Nietzsche furthers his pursuit of a clarity that is less tainted by imposed prejudices. He looks at the way attitudes towards 'morality' evolved and the way congenital ideas of morality were heavily colored by the Judaic and Christian traditions.
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Be strong, not weak.
- By Wayne on 06-24-13
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Think with Pinker
- How to Be a Better Critical Thinker
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Steven Pinker, Various, Tim Harford, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
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Cognitive scientist Professor Steven Pinker has spent his life thinking about thinking, and now he wants us to join him. With the aid of his critical thinking toolkit, he hopes to help us make smarter choices, become more rational, gain a greater understanding of the confused world we live in—and maybe even become better citizens. In this fascinating series, produced in partnership with the Open University, he examines the different ways the human brain can be tripped up, from understanding probability to the difference between correlation and causation.
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Insightful, Useful, & a Must for Reasoning Persons
- By Zach Brunson on 12-31-22
By: Steven Pinker
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The Upside of Stress
- Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It
- By: Kelly McGonigal
- Narrated by: Kelly McGonigal
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 44 percent of Americans admit to losing sleep over stress. And while most of us do everything we can to reduce it, Stanford psychologist and best-selling author Kelly McGonigal, PhD, delivers a startling message: Stress isn't bad. In The Upside of Stress, McGonigal highlights new research indicating that stress can, in fact, make us stronger, smarter, and happier - if we learn how to embrace it.
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Bedtime Reading for Insomniacs
- By Rich on 11-26-17
By: Kelly McGonigal
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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
- Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
- By: Shunryu Suzuki
- Narrated by: Peter Coyote
- Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few. So begins this most beloved of all American Zen works....
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*NOT* Unabridged
- By Nichael on 02-24-22
By: Shunryu Suzuki
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The Genealogy of Morals
- By: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Narrated by: Jim D Johnston
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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On the Genealogy of Morality (The Genealogy of Morals) is an 1887 book by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It consists of a preface and three interrelated essays that expand and follow through on concepts Nietzsche sketched out in Beyond Good and Evil. The three essays trace episodes in the evolution of moral concepts with a view to confronting moral prejudices, specifically those of Christianity and Judaism. Some Nietzsche scholars consider Genealogy to be a work of sustained brilliance and power as well as his masterpiece.
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Fantastic rendition of Nietzsche
- By Mark Twain "Eddie" on 05-09-19
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The Expectation Effect
- How Your Mindset Can Change Your World
- By: David Robson
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Melding neuroscience with narrative, science journalist David Robson takes lstenersi on a deep dive into the many life zones the expectation effect permeates. We see how people who believe stress is beneficial become more creative when placed under strain. We see how associating aging with wisdom can add seven plus years to your life. People say seeing is believing but, over and over, Robson proves that the converse is truer: Believing is seeing.
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Every leader and teacher must read!
- By Myron Golden on 09-18-22
By: David Robson
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Fear and Trembling
- By: Søren Kierkegaard
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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From the perspective of an unbeliever, Fear and Trembling explores the paradox of faith, the nature of Christianity, and the complexity of human emotion. Kierkegaard examines the biblical story of Abraham, who was instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac, and forces us to consider Abraham's state of mind. What drove Abraham, and what made him carry out such an absurd and extreme request from God? Kierkegaard argues that Abraham's agreement to sacrifice Isaac, and his suspension of reason, elevated him to the highest level of faith.
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Great book and Formidable Narration
- By MFC on 03-06-20
What listeners say about The Better Angels of Our Nature
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Paul
- 12-20-11
Would get 5 stars if read by author
I gave this 4 stars overall just because the author doesn't read this book. Granted, Arthur Morey does a great job and this book represents a 36 hour commitment. Pinker makes a convincing case that violence is reduced in our current world compared to previous times. This isn't just about the crime drop of the 1990's but that's part of it. The strongest comparisons are the ones between the 20th century and the 16th century. But you can imagine some reductions in violence: the end of slavery; women's rights; better treatment of aboriginal peoples. But look at how long humanity has had the hydrogen bomb and never used it in anger. Even terrorism can be seen as a drop in violence because the number of people actually attacked is low compared to wars.
The author doesn't go into why violence is less today until he gets to the last part of the book. There he makes some claims and backs it up with evidence from recent psychological studies. This doesn't completely prove his thesis but I think it would be hard to debate the opposite: that violence is increasing. Even though I bet a politician today would get more votes for saying so.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kenneth
- 12-08-11
A convincing look at humanity's social evolution
Where does The Better Angels of Our Nature rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This a powerfully fascinating book where Pinker shows, with very thorough evidence, that human nature has changed for the better over the centuries. In short, Pinker will prove to you how we have, if still incompletely depending on culture and region, become more peaceful, just and civilization after a fashion. In that, the author gives a detailed look at the history of violence in society that will make you blanch at the bloody antics done by our ancestors and the psychological research trying to explain it. Just hear the reader read out how medieval people found
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was heartened for at least one element of the human race, even while I wanted to give those sadists in the past a taste of their own medicine.
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2 people found this helpful
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- D
- 08-27-18
Hidden biased making self evident conclusion
Pinker spends 800 pages (with tiny letters, scholarly) making a self-evident case for the reduction of what HE calls "violence". Yes, everybody should agree that, amongst other things, the State and cultural advancements (the printing press etc) societies drew back from aggression (against each other, children, animals, woman, gay, blacks...).
BUT that doesn't mean we experience something that Pinker is incapable of conceptualizing: the underlying violent struct that sustains our non-violent lives. A quick example would be how the laws and the way airport security has the power to subject us in the way to prevent a terrorist attack. Or let's say how slavery ended, but the imprisonment system has boomed as a direct correlation.
Apart from his own bias as a hardcore Liberal (and he doesn't acknowledge this, rather calling himself as a rational), Steven Pinker fills the gap between premise and conclusion with hysterical anti-communism.
The book does a good job of compiling evidence and connecting disparate facts. This book is a discussion catalyzer (especially if your book club consists of liberals and socialist/communists), so enjoy it but be ready to get angry (and linguistically violent) at him!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Susan
- 03-11-16
Masterpiece
This book was quite an undertaking in length , but well worth the time spent . This is an absolute masterpiece, and one of the most thoughtful and thorough pieces of literature I have ever read . I recommend this to all avid readers .
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1 person found this helpful
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- Pradheepa
- 12-11-13
Not an easy listen, but worth the effort.
The title clearly summarizes what the book is about. The science was the most interesting part of the book. The statistical analysis of wars, the difference in perspective between victims and perpetrators, the explanation of reduction in violence using the framework of the pacifist's dilemma etc. were very interesting. The historical narrative was hard to listen to because it is hard to come to terms with the violence that is a part of our past. I am glad that violence is coming down, but wish it would decline more rapidly. I hope listeners will better understand how to alter payoffs in order to create conditions that favor peace and do what they can, after listening to this book. Understanding, reason, enlightened thinking and empathy will hopefully reduce unnecessary suffering faster in the future.
The narration was very good making it easier to finish this long book.
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- Matthew
- 12-07-14
So much info
What did you love best about The Better Angels of Our Nature?
So much info, so interesting.
Any additional comments?
His depth is great. Though I'm not interested in psychology (chapter 9 or something focuses on this), the amount of novel and non-intuitive info he presents make it worth listening to.
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- Honest John
- 12-22-14
Excellent !!!
If you could sum up The Better Angels of Our Nature in three words, what would they be?
Fascinating, engaging, thought provoking, and hopeful book. Impressively researched. Intriguing thesis well presented and supported. A masterpiece!!
Who was your favorite character and why?
NA -- this is not a novel.
Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?
Morey's narration is excellent. His pacing and phrasing tie in perfectly with the subject matter. It felt like the author was speaking to me directly.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
Pinker constructs a careful and thorough analysis of the trajectory of human violence and demonstrates conclusively how and why it has decreased.
Any additional comments?
Buy it !!
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- Daniel M.
- 01-03-18
Exceptional, optimistic, and an eye-opener
Science-based, puts our contemporary violence in perspective to our bloody past. I did not think that I will learn much from this book, but was exited to find that I was wrong.
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- Pank
- 12-17-18
A book for bringing optimism
this book is both factual and well written. this is the kind of book anyone can read and it is informative. It may be lonng, but its worth it.
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- Charles Mintz
- 05-22-18
Some books don't do well on Audible
This is an important timely book. That being said, it is loaded with statistics. Great for reading but when read to you, gets a bit mind-numbing. So, I would heartily recommend this book but beware, the listen is a slog. I would have reviewed the performance higher, he read it just fine. Again, the statistics were not a great fit....
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