![]() These are the same tenuous, abuse-prone, guilty-by-association tactics that the far right has used to tar academics by linking them to communism or Islamism. They merely claim that Pinker tends to “move” in “the proximity” of what one newspaper “called” a revival of scientific racism. In the first clause of this indictment, the signatories do not accuse Pinker of “scientific racism” with the attendant obligation to substantiate the charge. Pinker now regrets), or his dubious past stances on rape and feminism. Pinker’s tendency to move in the proximity of what The Guardian called a revival of “scientific racism”, his public support for David Brooks (who has been argued to be a proponent of “gender essentialism”), his expert testimonial in favor of Jeffrey Epstein (which Dr. So what do they have against Pinker? Four passages convey the argument. The signatories have no concern about his “academic contributions as a linguist, psychologist and cognitive scientist.” The first thing to note is the letter’s acknowledgment that the denunciation itself and its call for the Linguistic Society of America to remove Pinker from its list of “distinguished academic fellows and media experts” are not grounded in any claim about Pinker’s scholarly chops. A closer look at the letter lays bare the specific ideological orthodoxies and political tests that at least hundreds of linguists now feel comfortable openly imposing on their colleagues. They were trying to radically narrow the bounds of acceptable speech and inquiry. But the hundreds of academics who targeted Pinker were not merely reaffirming sensible, widely agreed upon taboos. The chilling effect that creates, especially among linguists without tenure, wouldn’t be cause for alarm if the speech in question were obviously and egregiously improper if it consisted, for example, of racial slurs or open bigotry. But they did send a message to less powerful scholars that certain opinions, publicly stated, could result in professional sanction. ![]() Whatever their intentions, they were never going to succeed in intimidating the famous, tenured Harvard professor. H undreds of academics in the linguistics community signed an open letter earlier this month attacking Steven Pinker, one of their field’s most prominent scholars, for six tweets and a passage from one of his best-selling books.
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