Violence occurs at an abject rate in today’s society. As a people we remain violent but in our actions the numbers of violent acts committed on a daily basis are reduced. Steven Pinker-Harvard physiologist-believes that the world is at its most peaceful point in its existence. Dr. Pinker feels as if violence in society has developed a decreasing trend in which it will continue to follow. Dr. Pinker’s ideology is refuted by Jacob Ewing. Ewing states that while the overall numbers of violent acts committed daily are less than earlier history, mankind has now been educated in morality and still heinous crimes present themselves in grisly manor. Today many citizens of numerous countries are in unison with the desire to achieve a non-violent existence. As a people we have the right and obligation to create the world we want to live in, it is in this belief that our world will become less violent.
After reading Violence Vanquished, one becomes eerily aware of the world in which we inhabit. In a world in which violence is a second nature, things go awry quickly. Dr. Pinker suggests that this time in history is the least violent. That being said Dr. Pinker uses the statistical evidence in numbers as a tactic in substantiating his claim. Dr. Pinker believes that as a people violence over time has been bred out of us, thus leaving us more peaceful by nature (191). Dr. Pinker does a decent job displaying his beliefs; however he seems to be lacking the ability to connect with the reader on a wider level. Leaving one with the feeling that they read government propaganda. Dr. Pinker does a stellar job presenting evidence in a clean cut “square” way, leaving the reader with a feeling of something left to be desired. “As one becomes aware of the historical decline of violence, the world presents itself differently” (Pinker 190).