In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading  experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and  its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit,  lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no  innate traits - a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past  century - denies our common humanity and our individual preferences,  replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans,  and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the  arts.