In his reading, Pinker discusses four fears: the fear of inequality, the fear of imperfectability, the fear of determinism, and the fear of nihilism. I want to talk more about Pinker's stance on the fear of inequality, as the issue of inequality has been one at the forefront of many political issues in recent years, as well as countless times throughout history. Pinker believes all of these fears to be illogical and explains his stance on the fear of inequality as follows:
"Let me begin with the fear of inequality. The idea is that if we’re blank slates, we must be equal. That follows from the mathematical truism that zero equals zero equals zero. But if the mind has any innate organization, according to this fear, then different races, sexes, or individuals could be biologically different, and that would condone discrimination and oppression.
"I think it’s easy to see the non-sequitur here. It confuses the value of fairness with the claim of sameness. When the Declaration of Independence said, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,' it surely did not mean 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are clones.' Rather, a commitment to political equality means two things. First, it rests on a theory of universal human nature, in particular, universal human interests, as when the Declaration continues by saying that 'people are endowed … with certain inalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' It’s also a commitment to prohibit public discrimination against individuals based on the average of certain groups they belong to, such as their race, ethnicity, or sex. And as long as we have that policy, it doesn’t matter what the average statistics of different groups turns out to be."
Pinker's argument is certainly interesting to think about. He claims that the issue of equality depends on "universal human interests," an idea that could theoretically work, but ignores the context of the world we currently live in. Human interests differ all across the world, and while the several universal ones that he mentions (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) truly are universal, they aren't attainable for many. Outside action is necessary for equality to be a realistic goal for a massive portion of the world's population. Thus, the fear of inequality is still a relevant qualm for many.
While inequality isn't something I've had to deal with much in my own life, as I am a straight, white male who grew up in an upper-middle-class family in the United States, this issue is one of significant value to me. Many of my friends are Somali immigrants or children of immigrants and the fear of inequality is one they can't avoid. While Pinker's argument may be grounded in a seemingly correct idea, no one in my friends' situations, anything similar, or anything worse would feel any better about how "illogical" the fear of inequality is.
I think it is interesting that Pinker used the Declaration of Independence as the idea that "all men are created equal" considering it took until almost 200 years later for the US to pass the 14th amendment. I do think it can tie in well to your own argument that we all agree that ever man should have the same rights (life, liberty, ect.) many men and women do not receive it. You mention that you come from a white upper-middle class family, but I having friends who come from different backgrounds from you is important. Understanding how their own backgrounds affect their lives differently than you is important too. It sounds like you think inequality is made by people not seeking to make a change. Are there ways you are helping or now inspired to stop inequality in your friends' lives in in general?
ReplyDeleteYes thinking about this has certainly made me realize that participating in the fight for equality is an important thing to do. Only action can lead to change so the more people involved the better.
DeleteThe horrifying line for me (in its innocent bluntness) is : 'it doesn’t matter what the average statistics of different groups turns out to be.' Do we thus think that black people, say, are going to have different scores on some measures? And that this is just 'how it is'? I see a door here, open to all kinds of science-legitimated race / class / etc.-isms.
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