Summary Of In Defense Of Dangerous Ideas By Steven Pinker

The article being referenced was written by Steven Pinker and is titled “In Defense of Dangerous Ideas” and was published on July 15, 2007 as a preface to his book “What is your Dangerous Idea?: Today’s Leading Thinkers on the Unthinkable”. The article tells how in the past quarter century people have had new dangerous ideas that Pinker says our society is ill equipped to deal with. He also explains why these ideas are considered “dangerous”. He states that the acceptance of these ideas would come to a conclusion that some would say is deplorable. He also states that once a dangerous idea is out in the public there are certain people who will takes sides on the argument and act on upon their thoughts they might have held private until the publication of the idea. After reading the article I can see why some people might not want these questions brought up for fear of argument and the after effects of answering such questions but I also understand why we must answer them to better our society as a whole.
From Pinker’s article; “One factor is an imaginable train of events in which acceptance of the idea could lead to an outcome recognized as harmful.” (Pinker) People are afraid that any outcome of answering these questions could lead to something catastrophic that may not have anything to do with the question it originally answered. People believe that the acceptance of one dangerous idea could lead to more radical ideas. We don’t know if that is what would actually happen but for some people that’s enough to not want to answer them. But how do these ideas become known to the common