The Better Angels of Our Nature
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinkerby Steven Pinker
Shares rank 65 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended to show how far society has come; critics say it ignores major problems and historians dispute its claims.
Recommended to show how far society has come; critics say it ignores major problems and historians dispute its claims.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Companion read on human progress
“For a different perspective you should read Better Angels by Pinker.”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Loud noises heard in Venezuela capital, southern area without electricity” “See also Pinker's book Better Angels.”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “YouTube to automatically label AI-generated videos”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Ignores major problems
“Sometimes he says smart stuff but he ignores or actively disregards massive problems”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “YouTube to automatically label AI-generated videos” Has many issues
“Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature had lots of issues.”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “The great crime decline is happening all across the country” Historians dispute its claims
“historians took a lot of issue with his claims”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “The great crime decline is happening all across the country”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| The Better Angels of Our Natureby Steven PinkerThis page | 4 | 1 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“historians took a lot of issue with his claims”
“Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature had lots of issues.”
“You can read Steven Pinker's Better angels of our nature and get a good sense of how far along have we come.”
“Sometimes he says smart stuff but he ignores or actively disregards massive problems”
“See also Pinker's book Better Angels.”
“For a different perspective you should read Better Angels by Pinker.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.