What went wrong at Harvard | Steven Pinker | The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
ReasonTV・61 minutes read
Steven Pinker co-founded the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard to advocate for free speech and academic freedom, aiming to protect faculty and students from censorship. Pinker emphasizes the importance of upholding institutional neutrality, consistent enforcement of policies, and preventing ideological biases in academia.
Insights
- Steven Pinker advocates for academic freedom and free speech, emphasizing the need for consistent policies to prevent selective crackdowns and protect faculty and students from intimidation or censorship.
- Pinker's exploration of human progress through historical trends and cognitive biases showcases his belief in the power of knowledge to drive social change, highlighting advancements in well-being and cooperation fostered by networks of exchange and commerce.
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Recent questions
Who is Steven Pinker?
A psychologist and author advocating for academic freedom.
What challenges does Harvard face?
Declining donations and applications threaten its reputation.
What is the Council on Academic Freedom?
A group advocating for free speech and academic freedom.
How does Steven Pinker promote academic freedom?
By advocating for consistent enforcement of policies.
What is the significance of Harvard's reputation?
Crucial for its success and academic environment.
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Summary
00:00
Defending academic freedom at Harvard University.
- Steven Pinker is a psychologist and best-selling author known for defending academic freedom and liberal values.
- He co-founded the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard to advocate for free and civil exchange of ideas.
- Pinker published a five-point plan to save Harvard from restrictions on speech and academic freedom.
- Harvard faces challenges with declining donations and applications, threatening its reputation.
- The Council aims to push back against restrictions on speech and offer support to faculty under attack.
- Harvard's reputation is crucial for its success, but recent controversies have put it at risk.
- The Council promotes institutional neutrality and nonviolence on campus to protect academic freedom.
- The importance of consistent enforcement of policies to prevent selective crackdowns on speech.
- Pinker highlights instances of speech restrictions at Harvard, emphasizing the need for a robust academic freedom policy.
- The Council's efforts focus on upholding free speech principles and protecting faculty and students from intimidation or censorship.
15:57
"Academia's Ideological Challenges and Solutions"
- The congressman leading the hearing was a Harvard graduate, possibly motivated by revenge due to a past incident at the Kennedy School of Government.
- Academia resists external control but can lead to self-contained circles and entrenched orthodoxies.
- John Dos Passos' reputation changed drastically after expressing controversial views during the Spanish Civil War.
- A survey revealed a lack of conservative representation in Harvard faculty, with only 3% identifying as conservative.
- Academic fields can develop entrenched dogmas, hindering viewpoint diversity.
- Suggestions for promoting viewpoint diversity include affirmative action for conservatives and empowering visiting committees to evaluate departments.
- Evolutionary psychology may dominate over other schools of thought in psychology departments without issue.
- Political litmus tests can hinder hiring processes, favoring certain ideological beliefs.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives can create intellectual monocultures and impose ideological hierarchies.
- Transparency and oversight are crucial in ensuring DEI policies are defensible and not implemented by stealth.
32:11
Steven Pinker: Progress, Photography, and Cognition
- Steven Pinker is known for his books "Our Nature" in 2011 and "Enlightenment Now" in 2018, focusing on moral and material progress.
- Pinker recommends watching the 2015 Monk Debate where Matt Ridley and Steve were in favor of human progress over Malcolm Gladwell and Alain de Botton.
- Pinker argues for progress by listing dimensions of human well-being, such as safety, health, poverty reduction, and equality.
- Historical trends show improvement in most aspects of human well-being over time, despite occasional setbacks.
- Pinker attributes social change and progress to increasing knowledge, leading to the abandonment of barbaric practices and superstitions.
- Networks of exchange and commerce, leading to wealth, promote cooperation and moral progress, as seen in affluent countries.
- Pinker discusses cognitive biases like the availability bias and emotional coloring of memory that hinder recognizing progress.
- Pinker's interest in stereoscopic photography ties into his intellectual pursuits, reflecting his broader interest in visual representation and cognition.
- Pinker's photography exhibition at Brooklyn Sweet Lorraine gallery showcases his work in stereoscopic photography, adding a visual dimension to his intellectual endeavors.
- Pinker's exploration of photography aligns with his academic background and intellectual curiosity, bridging the gap between visual art and cognitive science.
48:05
"3D Vision, AI Optimism, and Ethnic Bias"
- The term "2 and a half d" was borrowed from artificial intelligence researcher David Maher, referring to the information the eyes provide to the brain, allowing us to perceive depth and perspective.
- Our vision is not truly three-dimensional; it is a combination of visual cues like converging lines and differences in motion speed that our brain interprets as depth.
- The brain unconsciously triangulates distances using the slight differences in images from each eyeball, giving us a vivid sense of the third dimension.
- Photography has long utilized stereo photography, showing images from two vantage points to create a 3D effect, now enhanced by modern technology for a stunning visual experience.
- The speaker leans towards being an AI optimist, believing in the potential of technology while acknowledging risks like impersonation, disinformation, and job displacement.
- AI's promise lies in task-oriented applications like autonomous vehicles, eliminating dangerous jobs, and enhancing law enforcement.
- The speaker's intellectual influences range from evolutionary biology to cognitive science, philosophy, and history, shaping his views on human nature and societal dynamics.
- Ethnic groups' fortunes often depend on their history, ecology, and niche roles like money lending and retail, leading to targeted hatred due to cognitive biases.
- Athletic admissions at elite universities historically aimed to limit Jewish enrollment but inadvertently brought in high-performing students with diverse talents.
- Selecting students based on test scores may be fairer and more effective than other criteria, as it correlates with various positive traits and talents.
01:05:42
Measuring University Prestige and Ideological Influences
- Prestige in universities is challenging to measure, with suggestions including university presidents rating each other or using metrics like patents, Nobel prizes, and Pulitzer prizes.
- Predicting a university's success beyond financial factors involves considering investments made over 10-20 years, posing a complex question with no definitive answer.
- A discussion on Ayn Rand's influence highlights her objectivist views, libertarianism, and the contrast with Enlightenment thinking, emphasizing the heroic industrialist and indifference to societal norms.
- Influences on libertarianism include Tom Sowell and Hayek, with a focus on distributed intelligence in markets and the tradeoff between perfect equality and perfect freedom.
- Engaging broadly with different ideological groups involves forging strategic alliances, emphasizing common ground, using historical examples, and presenting facts, particularly through graphs, to persuade and reach a wider audience.
