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With a current preface for the new edition! The idea that humans are a blank slate, onto which personal experiences are inscribed throughout life, originates from John Locke. In his now-classic book "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature," bestselling author Steven Pinker takes the opposing view: with wit, brilliance, and scholarship, he analyzes the history of this idea and demonstrates how wrong it is—along with all its crude implications for notions of sexuality, race, child-rearing, intelligence, and more. The role of genes is systematically underestimated; however, that does not mean we are entirely at their mercy. Pinker also shows how liberating this perspective can be. An entertaining and illustrative book about human nature, it is a true pleasure to read.