Studies counting bodies show homicide rates among prehistoric peoples were orders of magnitude higher than in modern societies, even including two world wars.
Not researched Checkable, but outside the sample that was researched.
Factual: Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?
Cite this claim
Steven Pinker, “Studies counting bodies show homicide rates among prehistoric peoples were orders of magnitude higher than in modern societies, even including two world wars.” (said 1 January 2002). Verdict: not researched. Reliability API, claim c_35a941e52709, method 0.1.0+28da144b, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_35a941e52709
This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.
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More factual claims by Steven Pinker
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Mostly true
“But in other kinds violence, such as homicides, the progress has definitely continued.”
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“I float a number of hypotheses as to why cooperation and human flourishing in general have increased.”
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“Those were as old as civilisation.”
Slavery and imperialism were as old as civilisation, predating the Enlightenment.
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Mixed
“Nuclear doomsday scenarios in the 1960s set off not disarmament but an arms race with the Soviets.”
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Mixed
“More countries are democratic than not, even though if it’s fewer than it was 20 years ago.”
More countries are democratic than not, though fewer than 20 years ago.
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