Rationality Under Threat: Steven Pinker On Academic Freedom at Dissident Dialogues

I spoke on Human Rationality and Academic Freedom at the Dissident Dialogues event in New York this year. Drawing from my book, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters, I explore why rational thinking is essential yet slowly becoming elusive in our society.
Today we have what Dan Kahan calls expressive rationality which is allegiance to a social group, and right or left wing political loyalty - both of which often interfere with reasoned study and dialogue.
In an era where academic freedom is under threat, with individuals being canceled or fired for expressing their views, it is crucial to protect and develop our institutions of reason.
#Rationality #AcademicFreedom #DissidentDialogues #pinker #cognitivepsychology #podcast #psychology #science #stevenpinker #motivation #success #mindset #sound #mind #brain #imagination #languagedevelopment #language #words #magic #memorizing #social #mechanism #humanbehavior #fear #expressions #music #universal #genetics #equalitynow
Follow me:
Twitter:
Facebook: web.facebook.c...
Website: stevenpinker.org/

[@AndeSomby]

Wonderful contribution. I am proud for the fact that Steven Pinker holds an honorary Doctorate at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

[@pjperalta]

Ashkenazi jews have a mutation in chromosome 3 that changes protocadherin , a protein that influences brain processes. The mutation may cause a number of mental problems, including epilepsy, but, most inportantly, it causes religious fantasies and psychopatic trends, such as we see in Zionism, that believes that God has given Jews the dominion on the earth, and that they may dispose of thousands of slaves and kill all other humans. That would explain the present madness of Netanyahu. The disease is described in Pubmed!

[@malachi-]

They did that to get their name on the same list as his, not the other way around.

[@paulalexander2740]

@@malachi- Gross speculation. No basis whatsover. Could be coincidence or correlation IF true that "their name on the same list as his".

[@redrobin8544]

Thank you for taking time to explain this again and again.

[@davidanieland]

And again and again and again... His patience is his contribution to humanity.

[@EmperorsNewWardrobe]

Holy smokes, I wasn’t aware of that McCarthyism stat. Worrying times indeed

[@iExploder]

And it isn't helped by people asking whether or not Jews are human or other insane bullshit like that.

[@PecosHank]

Excellent!

[@ricoman7981]

When I went to university in the late 1970’s and early 80’s taking a business degree, I don’t recall ever having discussions among fellow students and our profs that followed along political lines, not even when discussing policy in Econ classes. Of course, this was before cancel culture and the vitriolic hatred between Left and Right political allegiances becoming front and centre in our lives, the advent of instantaneous mass communication and the somewhat disastrous power of ‘like’ and ‘share’ buttons. Everyone has opinions, influenced as they may be. I happen to like the following saying that I came across some years ago: The Left is not right and the Right is not wrong.

[@ricoman7981]

@bully3808 I have no idea what you mean.

[@bradsillasen1972]

Ya can't beat that intro for a talk on rationality! :)

[@konstantinosstag6436]

To everyone: Read the Social Animal by Aronson already. It examines and dissects all the mechanics of rationality vs emotion in social groups. I believe it is a must read for everyone looking for tools to comprehend and function within a society.

[@Minimmalmythicist]

14:00 This pretty much applies to the Chicago economics faculty in the 80s and 90s, they hated people who criticised Friedman and Hayek and pretty much said "oh if evidence shows our theories have drawbacks, there´s a problem with the evidence".

[@pazitor]

Monetarism certainly added a missing and fundamental analytical perspective, but Friedman and Hayek both, like so many, engaged in _prescription_ beyond and above what is justified by _description._ There are _no_ models that can act as pure truth engines, right on every count, accurate in every detail, flawless in prediction. Particularly in a science that so very heavily relies on _ceteris paribus_ conditions, which do allow for helpful simplification, but few are mindful of how much of actual reality is left out (failures of the model).

[@Minimmalmythicist]

@@pazitor absolutely, it´s nuts to think any economic model is a 100% realistic description of how things absolutely work

[@pazitor]

@@Minimmalmythicist My point being just that, Chicago economics was and is not above rational critique.

[@Minimmalmythicist]

@@pazitor oh it was criticised very heavily at the time, though if you were in the Chicago economics department and you disagreed, you likely wouldn´t have been listened to. With economics, though I think real economic discoveries have been made, I think it´s questionable that we´re much better informed than at the start of the century at times.

[@jetzenijeboer4854]

Complacency is always dangerous.

[@ianlange8108]

Dr. Pinker is great at speaking to fellow intellectual types. Ironically, this is probably him dumbing himself down as much as he can, and yet, this lecture is probably lost on most of the people who need to hear it the most.

[@RC-qf3mp]

Right, that’s the real problem - you cannot rational persuade the irrational. And irrational persuasion is demeaning to the rational. And the last alternative is force, which is basically a victory to the irrational. Ultimately, Woke-ism is a cultural disease that infects the minds of the vulnerable rendering them incapable of rational thought and hostile to free speech (as ‘violence’). We are doomed.

[@sirdiealot53]

In this moment, I am euphoric.

[@johnnastrom9400]

There were some good points made by Pinker in this speech; however, there were moments where he was being disingenuous and ironically, violating his own rules for critical thinking.

[@vinegar10able]

A welcome and much needed video

[@thomasnimtoft1955]

Another great episode. Thanks Mr Pinker

[@Robert-yc9ql]

Nicely done. 😊

[@millionaire233]

Beautiful! 😊

[@jimallen8186]

Believe recent events show us journalism no longer adheres to standards of editing and fact checking.

[@willmpet]

I used to think my liberalism was due to a college education but I think now it was due to reading “The Jungle” and my outrage.

[@Michaelfrikkie]

The sound effect in this presentation is incredibly fitting, especially when you consider that he is speaking to an echo chamber.

[@jackdillon5903]

What exact idea is echoing in this chamber?

[@Michaelfrikkie]

@@jackdillon5903 Reductive Materialism.

[@i_accept_all_cookies]

I wish Steven the best of luck. When "opinions are signals of loyalty to a social group", it's hard to have trust in institutional social groups. Independent and critical thinking, the ability to analyze situations from all angles; these need to be valued over consensus.

[@douglascutler1037]

But will you get your own degree in dentistry before addressing that toothache? Will you learn how to maintain and repair your own motor vehicle including all electronics? Will you get your own pilot's licence AND aviation safety inspection certification before taking that vacation flight? Without trust in expertise modern society would fall to pieces in three days.

[@i_accept_all_cookies]

@@douglascutler1037 Having difficulty trusting institutions is not equivalent to not using institutions. Of course I use institutions. But I still need to think for myself. Before booking a flight, you better believe I'm going to think twice if it's a Boeing. And when choosing a Dentist, Doctor, etc... yes, I check their backgrounds. Would be foolish not to.

[@douglascutler1037]

@@i_accept_all_cookies I agree with you that individual critical thinking skills should be developed to the highest degree. Unfortunately, these skills are usually neglected at high school level - I think partly for fear that students might catch on and start asking too many questions of parents and elders. But the modern world is extremely complex. The ancient archetype of the all-knowing-alpha becomes a liability in the face of modern complexity. No one person can be expert even in more that maybe two or three fields in the rarest of cases. Specialization is everywhere. In medicine the heart doctor would never be allowed to perform brain surgery and vice versa. I'm not saying violations don't happen but at some point we have to trust our institutions and experts. Not blindly as you say. But for those with the best reputations and accreditation. I, for one, do not completely trust front line medicine dominated by big pharma and 'magic pill' syndrome. I'm not saying there isn't a time for such therapies but nutrition, lifestyle and prevention deserve to be promoted far more than current plus there is a lot of new research showing very good efficacy for such approaches.

[@ChuckSwiger]

If only more people were above average.

[@Wuppie62]

Above average in what exactly? IQ? Educational level? It seems that people with lower income and lower education have more children on average than those with higher income and higher education. If this is true, this might be part of the reason why there aren't as many people 'above average' as there are 'below average'..

[@ProjectCrystalJane]

lol. I assume that was a joke.

[@ChuckSwiger]

@@Wuppie62 That's the thesis of the Mike Judge documentary 'Idiocracy', the 'natural selection' of our caveman brains in an advanced scientific engineered civilization created by intelligence - the alternative is a much despised eugenics or institutionalized human breeding programs or genetic engineering, which is totally not aligned with the 'Blank Slate' theory of John Locke that's engraved in the Enlightenment Program.

[@ChuckSwiger]

@@Wuppie62 That's the thesis of the Mike Judge documentary 'Idiocracy', the 'natural selection' of the caveman brain in a scientific engineered advanced civilization created by intelligence. The alternative is a much despised eugenics or genetic engineering or human breeding for 'best traits' as decided by (someone!) instead of just survival and reproduction in a natural state. Eugenics is totally unacceptable by the 'Blank Slate' theory of the Enlightenment program as written by John Locke and enshrined in the US founding documents.

[@johnnynick3621]

@@Wuppie62 It was a joke - you missed it.

[@phuzzywuzzyabear]

While society crumbles this man pulls out the graphs. What a true nerd. We stand primitive and savage despite the graph. But what about the other side of the equations.

[@marksimpson2321]

Society is more civilised than ever before. Coverage of bad things is probably higher too thus making lots of people worried.

[@michaellipkin9430]

Dear Dr. Pinker. I think some more clarity on the word ¨rationality" is required. For many people the word means deductive reasoning which only really applies to pure mathematics and no where else. The type of institutional rationality you describe (usually) gets nearer to the truth then just one persons reasoning but in these complex historical and social sphere absolute truth can never be grasped. In a very individualistic society individuals are drawn towards prioritising their own isolated reasoning and proclaiming the absolute logic of it. The academy, like the functioning political arena, is an unusual collective where people serve a greater good (knowledge, country) but are free to develop and argue their own ideas within that. With the loss of the collective sense these institutions are dying. I believe this loss of collective sense may be due to the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of an external threat. Once this threat was gone many felt free to pursue power by any means available to them.

[@psikeyhackr6914]

Do skyscrapers over 1000 ft tall have to have more steel toward the bottom? Where are the rational engineers, scientists and academics asking for data on the distribution of steel down the Twin Towers? It hasn't occurred to them to ask in Two Decades?

[@Fnoalle]

Pinker ironically doesn't see his own political bias, which is truly informed by hate. I could explain, but there's no way to change his mind. He'd be the first one to agree that you cannot convince someone who wasn't reasoned into his belief in the first place.

[@gordonpepper1400]

When will Pinker understand that any changes within society, as in downward trend in rationality is due to one reason, and one reason only, and that being a change in our communication technologies. His book never really addresses this point. The decline in literacy and print culture, which lies at the heart/source of cause and effect, rational and left brain reasoning and thinking, is the main cause in the decline in rationality. PINKER please read McLuhan or Postman or media ecology scholars! and you will discover that the medium is the message! The change going from oral to print societies escalated rationality, however, we are once again becoming (electronically) retribalaized and returning to an oral-like culture - and hence losing our power of rational thinking and reasoning.

[@pohkeee]

Communication far beyond the speed of a completed thinking cycle. Deliberative thought takes time and reflection. Even if we examine our own biases and test our understanding…it takes time. When you have time to write it out, then edit and give it yet another look…In the past, many times the letter/essay was never mailed or published, because on second thought…it wasn’t so brilliant after all…🫣🥴

[@pohkeee]

One glaring complication is, we now have communication far beyond the speed of a completed thinking cycle. Deliberative thought takes time and reflection. Even if we examine our own biases and test our understanding…it takes time. When you have time to write it out, then edit and give it yet another look…In the past, many times the letter/essay was never mailed or published, because on second thought…it wasn’t so brilliant after all…🫣🥴

[@pohkeee]

One glaring complication is, we now have communication far beyond the speed of a completed thinking cycle. Deliberative thought takes time and reflection. Even if we examine our own biases and test our understanding…it takes time. When you have time to write it out, then edit and give it yet another look…In the past, many times the letter/essay was never mailed or published, because on second thought…it wasn’t so brilliant after all…🫣🥴

[@BinaryDood]

I was just gonna mention McLuhan. Yes, none of guys like Piker acknowledge this because it would put in cause their status of neoliberal thought leaders. To think "academia" is the crux of the issue is as erroneous as it comes. Now with generative AI, any consensus of reality shall become undecipherable. How come we are so molded and dependent on technology, to the point of a few lines of code in a single service of a single tech giant can make countless planes not fly and hospitals shut down service, we still manage to feign its neutrality and never make it a political object is beyond ridiculous. If chaos comes to take over, or a iron hand of order big and tight enough to contain it (into totalitarianism), then it shall be precisely because of the unscrupulous fast adoption of technology in every sector.

[@BinaryDood]

​@@pohkeeethat's why all types of accelerationism are bad.

[@F1ct10n17]

True believers will forever be neutral to the material world, unless it is done. What you think is not real, what you believe is not real either and that is immaterial world.

[@jimallen8186]

The scientific institutions did not fall over themselves to flout political positions; they were pushed. Those that would lose should recommendations be implemented falsely and maliciously accused the scientists then bought a political party thus gaining political positions against the science. In this, the scientific institutions became politically positioned in the opposite camp. They didn’t do it themselves, they merely responded after waking up in a camp. This is not the same as them choosing to be in a camp but now they must stay in the camp to fight the other camp as a matter of survival. So don’t blame them for being in a camp nor for staying in the camp.

[@jimallen8186]

With this, study John Boyd.

[@okiepita50t-town28]

I wonder what his thoughts are on the ex-president of Harvard Claudine Gay as a DEI hire and the plagiarism accusations against her.

[@jackdillon5903]

Listen to the podcast titled Stephen Pinker: What Went Wrong at Harvard. I think it's by The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie. Pinker shares some thinking but is rather circumspect about it (although I haven't listened to its entitety).

[@achyuthcn2555]

Why does it matter if "Rationaliy is under threat?". There's no point to anything in the grand scheme of things right!!!

[@BubbaF0wpend]

What a dumb thing to say

[@achyuthcn2555]

@@BubbaF0wpend, How is it dumb thing to say?? Why would anyone do something if there's no point in doing it??? If you believe there's no purpose for the existence of the universe and all things inside it, why would anything matter at all?? It's atheists that are utter hypocrites who can't accpet this fact and go on about just like animals driven purely by instinct and with no logical ground to their core beliefs.

[@SaffronHorizon]

9:43 'Even Wikipedia the only really successful form of social media'. Take that Zuckerberg.

[@jensklausen2449]

Is it rational to assume that the physical brain can be fully simulated in a computer, if this is the view presented? Current AI struggles significantly with open-ended problems where unforeseen events can occur, preventing the computation of a desired result.

[@воининтернета]

current ai is still in quite an early stage and very far from the limits (if there are any) of what's possible to simulate on the computer

[@AmyThePuddytat]

“Is it rational to assume that humans will travel to the moon one day? Our current canoes can't stray far from shore.”

[@jensklausen2449]

​@@воининтернета The computer must be limited to the simulated computing power of the human brain if one assumes that the brain is the ultimate model. In all open-ended problems, AI is always observed to enter areas of diminishing returns and seems to get stuck in a trajectory where it is forever, or at least for 1000 years, unable to recover on its own, as far as I know. This is almost never observed to happen in mammals and people, even though they are constantly presented with new open-ended problems throughout their lives, and they live to old age and reproductive age. Reaching reproductive age is necessary for biological evolution to occur. If just one of the new open-ended problems is not solved by the brain until reproductive age, as current AI often fails to do, then biological evolution and the view that the brain is the ultimate model cannot be sustained.

[@jensklausen2449]

@@воининтернета The computer must be limited to the simulated computing power of the human brain if one assumes that the brain is the ultimate model. The fastest supercomputers can already or soon do more FLOPS per second than the human brain. In all open-ended problems, AI is always observed to enter areas of diminishing returns and seems to get stuck in a trajectory where it is forever, or at least for 1000 years, unable to recover on its own, as far as I know. This is almost never observed to happen in mammals and people, even though they are constantly presented with new open-ended problems throughout their lives, and they live to old age and reproductive age. Reaching reproductive age is necessary for biological evolution to occur. If just one of the new open-ended problems is not solved by the brain until reproductive age, as current AI often fails to do, then biological evolution and the view that the brain is the ultimate model cannot be sustained.

[@jensklausen2449]

​@@воининтернета I have tried to answer you 2 times but my replies gets deleted and not by me. Maybe my replies are not inline enough with the the materialistic view that the brain alone or at most the physical body alone is all their is to a person. But maybe someone has to change their views, when the general consensus change, when AI continues to struggle to solve open ended problems, when some of the best of the smartest engineers and scientists using billions of dollars on computers that do more flops than the human brain, continue to fail to solve open ended problems that people do all the time. Talking about politics.

[@yon8378]

I am disturbed by your not mentioning "confirmation bias" as a leading cause of irrational thinking. (confirmation bias is the tendency to accept observations rgat confirm one's beliefs, and igore those that do not)

[@BobQuigley]

Laws of physics and thermodynamics rule.

[@michaelboguski4743]

Social Security and Medicare Medicaid Insurance was mandated because the average populace aren't Rational.

[@pauljennings4587]

Is forcing people to answer T or F a fair test? Who would actually make a real decision based on such little information in the first 2 examples.

[@LaboriousCretin]

Rationality means different things to different people. Similar to ethics and morals. Religions and their delusions they hold a point they would argue rational even in the light of othrr evidence or experiments. As far as your wars mapping. You left out the smaller more prevalent ones. Social wars and just like most other wars, they kill in ways to. Now as to human delusions and illusions and biases. Humans have many and can be mapped in ways. To add to it all. Social media companies know conflict is in human nature. They push conflict to get you to react and engage more for more advertising money. 11:23 Not just political, but religious and exist biases exist in sciences papers and teaching. Things like manyworlds being pushed instead of many possible states or manifold or such. Inscribing more to the system than needs to be. Creating a bias in a way also that links to religious. Keeping others from trying to go further in ways. Even things like the big bang story being pushed and things like. Constraints on quantum foam and no FTL ever seen. They have somewhat killed trying to look for pre big bang conditions and theories. Yet some exist. Even the god particle shows religious biases pushing narratives. One thing is fairly clear. Humans as a species is highly delusional. Not just Religions show such, but social media, and the internet show it in ways also. Cross correlated in a way.

[@bobtarmac1828]

You need a brand to spearhead your message. Spinoza Spinosity Spinozan SpinozasGod EinsteinsGod Rationality As God. Good luck Rebecca & Steve.

[@athanatic]

OK, The "Brain" pose with the semi-realistic-looking(?) brain and your earnest stare into the distance are simply going to make others laugh too!

[@cirilloucazzu4457]

Who’s the old lady wearing a tie?

[@Renato404]

What is a woman?

[@user-ej5gx7ph7q]

Did marketingvdestroyvthe American mind? Tgst and our delusion of American Exceptionalism

[@shawnwarren2351]

It is not about academic freedom. It's about the freedom academics. We do not need universities and colleges. We need a professional service model for higher education, as one finds in law and medicine.

[@Yazeeduoo]

Do you listen to rationality topics?

[@ivnarc6430]

Arent you one of jeffrey epstein buddies/customers

[@pohkeee]

One glaring complication is, we now have communication far beyond the speed of a completed thinking cycle. Deliberative thought takes time and reflection. Even if we examine our own biases and test our understanding…it takes time. When you have time to write it out, then edit and give it yet another look…In the past, many times the letter/essay was never mailed or published, because on second thought…it wasn’t so brilliant after all…🫣🥴

[@arunjetli7909]

really what about the biggest of all irrationIrynin kant and the west in assuming that his biases are validated Aptiori premises that has caused more suffering that n a belief in astrology

[@jimallen8186]

When you think about it, this presentation kicks Peter Principle into the trash can and along with it Dunning Kruger. Nice to see that.

[@Walter-os6ne]

I summit freedom from academics instead of forced academics.Free your mind and your ass will follow.

[@thewefactor1]

Okay.

[@kabaduck]

The speaker is illogical, he assumes that when it question is given to somebody for applying this logic that the question includes the total parameter space... The person answering the question doesn't just include the details within the question they include everything that they know about the subject

[@charold3]

Glug glug eh? Little rotgut huh? Burp. I hear ya! Haha! Party on!

[@phuzzywuzzyabear]

Pinker is a zombie

[@wardeggerrobertmarius144]

Is it mocking a rational argument? 😂 Is that a scientific approach? The world goes insane because most people lack self awareness.😂

[@cecilanderson7298]

Do you think the mentioned vaccines were safe and effective? Did the government lie about them at all? I think you are demonstrating what you accuse the right of . Cognitive dissonance or deliberately deception?

[@AmyThePuddytat]

This channel is not for you.

[@i_accept_all_cookies]

The irony... of being canceled, for making a comment regarding a video on "individuals being canceled for expressing their views".

[@AmyThePuddytat]

@@i_accept_all_cookies. Nobody is being cancelled, Covidiot.

[@i_accept_all_cookies]

@@AmyThePuddytat Ad hominem comments.. always the last recourse of an exhausted mind. Rather than pushing people out of channels or making puerile remarks, perhaps you might consider engaging people in meaningful conversation? And watch the video again, I think you missed the point..

[@stephenlupoli]

Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes! How did that Kool Aid taste?

[@michelangelope830]

¿Quieres que se acabe la guerra? ¿Si no quieres que se acabe la guerra para qué rezas o vives?. El conocimiento es importante y no se debería censurar porque salva vidas. ¡Ay Dios mio que no me entienden!, ¡ay Dios mio que se gastan fortunas en educación pública!. Soy un psicólogo y he descubierto que Dios es necesario, he descubierto que Dios existe y quiero mis premios Nóbeles. He descubierto la verdad es el ateísmo es una falacia lógica que asume Dios es la idea religiosa del creador de la creación y concluye erróneamente que el creador no existe porque una idea particular de Dios no existe. Para acabar la guerra se tiene que compartir este poema de amor para superar la mas severa y devastadora censura de todos los tiempos. ¿No son los ateos los que dicen que quieren que se pruebe que Dios existe? Yo puedo probar que Dios existe. Para probar que Dios existe el descubrimiento de que el ateísmo es una falacia lógica tiene que ser noticia. ¿Estoy pidiendo mucho?. Estoy hablando de realidad que supera la ficción que está pasando delante de tus propios ojos. Es importante que entiendas que no estoy pidiendo que estés de acuerdo conmigo. ¿Por qué no lees a Spinoza?, mal no te puede hacer. Por tus propios hijos inocentes y vulnerables, por la paz. Gracias.

[@mojungle3054]

How can someone be so gay?

[@Stoddardian]

Rationality is overrated. We need more emotion, romanticism, and instinct.

[@johnnynick3621]

Yeah..... right. Go live in the woods and survive on your emotions, romanticism and instincts. See how long you last. Silly subjectivists.

[@Stoddardian]

@@johnnynick3621 Without those instincts you wouldn't survive.

[@johnnynick9115]

​@@StoddardianYeah... Because when I go walking through the woods I instinctually know when a bear is nearby and I know instinctually which mushrooms and berries are ok for me to eat and which will kill me. Some people just crack me up.

[@altosack]

Very strange, but his math is off. If there were 69 faculty members, and one is conservative, that’s 1.45%; if there were 68, that’s 1.47%. There is no number of faculty members that is 1.46% conservative if only one of them is, unless one of them is only half a faculty member, giving 68-1/2 members.