Pinker identifies three entrenched ideas that dominate modern intellectual life, which he seeks to dismantle:
The fear that biological differences justify discrimination. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
The belief that the mind has no innate structure and that all knowledge and behavior come from experience and culture. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
The fear that we aren't responsible for our actions. The Reality of Human Nature The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
The idea that the "soul" or "will" exists entirely separate from the biological functions of the brain. Why the Denial?