• Which theory (pp. 5, 6, 8) seems to be the most prominent and believable within human beings? (DM)

• My question is in reference to the Descartes and Locke quotes in the first chapter (pp. 5, 8). Having read Locke and Descartes earlier, is Pinker’s articulation of their ideas accurate or has he manipulated them to a degree? (PW)

• Some people say that it is impossible for people to change. The Blank Slate claims that if you change the experiences by reforming parenting, education, the media, and social rewards, a person can change. Is this true, and if it is how might this happen? pg. 6 (KH)

• On page 6, Rousseau criticizes people who “hastily” conclude that man is evil in his natural state. Could Enkidu’s experience in Gilgamesh be used to prove Rousseau’s claim? (SM)

• What is the difference between the opinions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes when it comes to the nature of humans? (page 6-7)—AR

• Rousseau argues “Nothing can be more gentle than a man in his primitive state,” but isn’t man’s most primal instinct to survive? How can one simply survive and not be cruel? (6-7)—AW

• (Pg. 6-7) Noble Savage vs. Leviathan (WF)

• What defines are self? In the Ghost in the Machine scenario, introduced on page 9, would our soul in a new body still be our actual self, despite not looking like our previous physical self? (EA)

• The idea of the “Ghost in the machine” -p. 9 (CS)

• My topic is : brain transplants (page 10) If a person under goes a brain transplant, are they still the same person or are they the person that the brain belonged to? (JC)

• Are humans inherently evil, good or neither? (pinker, 11)—BF

• In pg. 11, 12, and 13, we see the power of subconsciously applied empiricism, romanticism, and dualism that determines people’s opinion. So in general, is it possible to break down a given person’s opinion and find the underlying philosophy that shapes his or her idea? (PY)