Book recommendation for all those who have ever pondered why:

abortion
evolution
cloning
euthanasia

etc. are topics on which, essentially, not only no debate is had, but, it seems, on which no debate can be had. The reason why these and so many other important topics are so contentious and, when they are debated, tend to generate more heat than light, is, at least according to author and researcher Steven Pinker, due to fundamental misunderstandings, disagreements and misconceptions about the nature, and indeed the very existence of human nature.

The book, then, is The Blank Slate (buy) and I wholeheartedly and in fact urgently recommend it to all those thoughtful people who wish to gain an insight into the topics above and why and how they relate to the deeply-held beliefs that accompany them.

What I find truly remarkable about the book is that the author spares no sacred cows, and exposes the fuzzy thinking and prejudices among both "People of Faith" (as would be expected) as well as the people who "should know better" - the people of science - for whom he reserves much of his harshest (although richly deserved) criticisms.

Read this book. It has much to teach all of us.