Steven Pinker

"As many political writers have pointed out, commitment to political equality is not an empirical claim that people are clones."

"There has to be innate circuitry that does the learning, that creates the culture, that acquires the culture, and that responds to socialization."

"Many artists and scholars have pointed out that ultimately art depends on human nature."

"Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the mind. Music depends on details of the auditory system, painting and sculpture on the visual system. Poetry and literature depend on language."

"By exploring the political and moral colorings of discoveries about what makes us tick, we can have a more honest science and a less fearful intellectual milieu."