Blank‑slate blindspot in academia

Singal argues a paradox: some critics who accuse Steven Pinker of fueling extremism actually adopt a form of 'blank‑slate' thinking themselves — assuming political movements depend primarily on intellectual cover rather than deeper social instincts. That blindspot leads them to misallocate blame (toward public intellectuals) and ignore persistent human tendencies like us‑versus‑them formation. — If critics misdiagnose the causal role of ideas versus social dynamics, policy and cultural responses (censorship, ostracism, demands for deplatforming) will target the wrong levers and deepen polarization.