philosophytorres

This is the first of three posts; the critique has been split into three parts to enhance readability, given the document's length. For the official publication, go here. Key findings: —> The first quarter or so of the chapter contains at least two quotes from other scholars that are taken “completely” out of context—that is, their original meaning is either in tension or outright contradictory with respect to the meaning implied by their use in this chapter. In both cases, the quotes play integral rhetorical, and to some extent substantive, roles in the argument that Pinker aims to develop. —> The chapter expends a great deal of energy attacking a small village of straw men, from the pessimism/optimism dichotomy that frames the entire discussion to the theoretical dangers posed by value-misaligned machine superintelligence. I argue that this tendency to knock down unserious or non-existent positions while ignoring or misrepresenting the most intellectually robust ideas does a disservice to the ongoing public and academic discussions about the various global-scale threats facing humanity this century. —> Many citations appear to have been poorly vetted. For example, Pinker relies on numerous non-scholarly articles to make what purport to be scholarly assertions about a wide range of topics that fall outside his area of expertise. In some cases, Pinker makes these claims with considerable confidence, thus giving non-expert readers—some of whom may be responsible for shaping domestic and foreign policies—a false sense of their tenability. —> Along these lines, many of the sources that Pinker cites to support his theses contain some facts, evidence, or ideas that undercut those theses. Rather than acknowledging that alternative views are also compatible with (or supported by) the evidence, though, Pinker preferentially selects the facts, evidence, and ideas that support his narrative while simply ignoring those that don’t. This is part of a larger issue of “cherry