Steven Pinker observes on Twitter that “The US is not a typical affluent western democracy – we do worse in most measures of human flourishing. Guns, cars, drugs are major causes.”
The US is not a typical affluent western democracy – we do worse in most measures of human flourishing. Guns, cars, drugs are major causes. https://t.co/M6GKqCUUOx
— Steven Pinker (@sapinker) August 1, 2023
The philosopher in me begs to differ
Guns, cars, drugs are not causes, as they are inanimate entities that lack free-will: the choice to think.
A gun used to stop a rapist;
A car driven to a grocery store;
A drug used to fight infection;
– all promote human flourishing.
It is the actions of human beings, with their defining characteristic of free-will, that are the causes, for good or bad. – Mark Da Cunha