Steven Pinker

via wikipedia

Steven Pinker is a prominent Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author. He is known for his influential work on the psychology of language and mind, as well as his advocacy of Enlightenment values and rationality. Pinker is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, where he has taught since 2008. Prior to this, he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over 20 years. He is the author of numerous bestselling books, including "The Language Instinct," "How the Mind Works," "The Blank Slate," "The Better Angels of Our Nature," and "Enlightenment Now." These works have established him as a leading public intellectual and have been praised for their accessible and engaging style. Pinker's key achievements include his groundbreaking research on language acquisition and the innate cognitive mechanisms that underlie human language and cognition. He is also known for his optimistic perspective on the progress of humanity, arguing that violence, poverty, and other social ills have declined over time. Pinker has been a vocal proponent of the Enlightenment values of reason, science, and humanism, and has been involved in debates about the role of these values in contemporary society.