Where: CMU McConomy Auditorium (5032 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213)

When: 11/2/2016

RSVP at: http://www.meetup.com/CFI-Pittsburgh/events/235025493/

Center for Inquiry – Pittsburgh

Join us for the Humanist League’s annual Carl Sagan Fest, a celebration of learning and reflection complete with apple pie! This year, Steven Pinker will receive the inaugural Sagan Award from CMU’s Humanism Initiative.

The event will be followed by a small reception in CUC Connan.

Talk Details:

The past: Contrary to popular opinion, violence at all scales have been in decline over the course of history.

The present: Human nature comprises faculties that encourage violence, such as dominance and revenge, but also faculties that inhibit it, such as self-control, empathy, and reason. The level of violence in a given society depends on how its norms and institutions affect the balance between them.

The future: Professor Pinker speculates on which of the historical changes that reduced violence in the past will continue into the future.

Wednesday, November 2 at 5:00 PM

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