The scientific study of violence in human says that everyone has, what scientists call, a “Seat of aggression” known as the limbic system. This area is located low in the central brain which is regulated by the brain’s frontal lobes. The two different areas communicate by sending chemical transmitters and hormones. One of them is called serotonin which heightens aggression in humans. Scientifically, humans have found that aggression in humans is natural but just because violence is scientifically natural does not mean it has to be socially innate. Violent behavior is “A response to particular sorts of provocation or stimulation,” therefore, focusing on interpersonal violence, aggression is caused by an unfavorable interaction with another human being or group. To then find the origin of violence, on a social level, the question of what the root is of unfavorable interactions between individuals and groups needs to be answered. The answer: the source of violence comes from tribalism and pressure.
First, tribalism can be described as an easy two-step process that leads nations to have conflict with one another because division is furthered in each step. The first step is simply picking a group. Tribalism, defined by Jonathan Glover, the author of Humanity, is something that draws people into having strong loyalty to their group because people feel the need to create something coherent with their lives. For example, there is a person with no affiliation to any society who lives a next a community, the person will be drawn to that group and in this case will be accepted. The next step is learning the national identity. Every group or nation has their own two kinds of characteristics that make them unique: national self-image and...
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...e Athenians, for those societies’ who are forced into desperate situations by unpredictable natural disasters, violent solutions were encouraged, vindicated and implemented. This justification and encouragement of violence, whether from a lack of resources or a quest for power, stemmed from the pressure they faced to maintain and better their welfare.
Pressure and tribalism are the cause of violence but they are intertwined. Tribalism creates differences between nations then pressure ignites and magnifies those differences creating conflict. Therefore, pressure helps create each nation’s narratives. As nations evolve so does their narrative. But something that will not change is that these narratives will never disappear because tribalism is intrinsic. The question now is since violence’s origins have been identified how does humanity create violence’s endpoint.
Do you believe violence is rooted into human nature?
In his book, titled Tribes, Joel Kotkin talks about the strong prevalence of tribalism on the 21st century. In the book the author starts with defining what he means by the word “tribalism”. The author then picks up 5 globally distributed ethnic tribal groups namely the Jews, British, Japanese, Chinese and the Indians and goes on to analyze each of these groups, in terms of evolution of the tribes, the prominent characteristics of each tribe, how they became more prominent in the modern world with the end of cold war and with the national boundaries getting more permeable. The author finally makes and attempt to predict how these ethnic groups will evolve and which of these groups will dominate the world going forward. The author believes that
When it comes to the topics of violence, murder, and mayhem among children, most will readily agree that children who committed these acts did so because their environmental situation inspired it. However, like me, some are convinced that biological factors are the main reasons children commit violent acts.
Violence in all of its manifestations is based on an exercise of power. It represents a means to gain power, to maintain power, or as a response to a threat to one's power. As long as a society maintains the legitimacy of social hierarchies, of the right of some people to have power over others, there will be violence. One can either seek to diffuse the concentration of power or to control violence. By its very character, the attempt to control violence is self-defeating. The control will itself become violent.
Philosophers since the beginning of time have debated over the source and cause of violent tendencies in humans that in turn produce global conflicts, to solve the age old question, man or beast? Global conflict can with out a doubt be completely accredited to the human race, but what are the particular reasons for humans to cause such conflicts? There are many topics that have been argued by philosophers and historians over the connection between the reasons the human race and global conflict. One such topic is the gender based theories and sexual differences of men and women. Others believe that religion, with particular emphasis on monotheistic beliefs, is the major basis of conflict among the human race up to this day. Another important fact to take into consideration when attempting to understand why there is global conflict in the human race; is the significance of individual cultures amongst opposing or simply separated tribes, groups, states, and nations. Lastly, one must consider the physical evidence, for example, figuring out what can be learned about previous prehistoric societies from anthropology and paleontology. The basis of the debate is the nature of mankind; is it in our nature to be like wild animals with a lust to kill with the only difference between us and animals being intelligence, or is it that mankind over the time of existence have developed such things as material goods, religious belief systems, and all different ways of life that are responsible for violence and conflict throughout the history of the world. There is no clear cut answer to why mankind acts in such a way, but one can develop a very strong argument or theory which includes and relat...
Guns and violence have some long lasting effects on not only the crime rate, but the rights that people have to own guns themselves. Even though the violence is a factor in why many believe that guns should be banned, guns should be allowed and not banned because they should be allowed because of the laws and the rights of citizens allow them there rights. The ethics and laws that occur with the current and enduring debates are another meaningful point. As Supreme Court Cases rage on about how a cities ban on handguns could break amendments, this is how the topic has gained from it (Hoxie 474). As crime statistics begin to rise there are many reasons that they need to work on the juvenile justice system (Collier 478). The other topic of the age could become a factor is another point that many think needs to be changed, as a 13 year old child could commit murder, they would not be sentenced as severely as an adult (Cohen 481). The ethic and laws play a huge effect on guns and violence because of the effects it has on crime, and the citizens themselves play a huge role on the society that they live in.
Since the first day they met, everyone knew that Katie and Ted would stay together forever. He was always telling everyone how he loved her and that she was the perfect wife and mother. However, behind closed doors was another story. Ted was not a kind man in “his” house, he was verbally abusive and constantly accusing Katie of cheating on him. These fits of rage were promptly followed by flowers and apologies. Katie was abused by Ted, however, she did love him and he did promise never to hurt her again.
During a freedom march on May 29, 1964 in Canton, Mississippi a boy by the name of McKinley Hamilton was brutally beaten by police to the point of unconsciousness. One of the witnesses of this event, and the author of the autobiography which this paper is written in response to, was Anne (Essie Mae) Moody. This event was just one of a long line of violent experiences of Moody’s life; experiences that ranged from her own physical domestic abuse to emotional and psychological damage encountered daily in a racist, divided South. In her autobiography Moody not only discusses in detail the abuses in her life, but also her responses and actions to resist them. The reader can track her progression in these strategies throughout the various stages of her life; from innocent childhood, to adolescence at which time her views from a sheltered childhood began to unravel and finally in adulthood when she took it upon herself to fight back against racial prejudice.
Many people argue whether violence is a part of the human brain or just a result from our society. Violence could be wired into our system, evolving with us since our savage past, but one does not know for sure.
4. Dodge, Kenneth A., John E. Bates, and Gregory S. Pettit. 1990. “Mechanisms in the Cycle of Violence.” Science 250: 1678–83.
First, war is universal due to its violent nature, violence in its application knows no bounds, and it is the common factor that identifies the war and without it the war is nothing more than a diplomatic effort to reach the end. However, wars blow out only when the diplomacy fails. Violence is the war engine. Although the application of violence evolved through time and its severity varies according to communities, cultures, and the means and methods used. Demonstrating the violence through the application of force to subjugate the enemy is the central idea of war. “War is a clash between major interests,
DuNann Winter, D., & Leighton, D. C. (2001 ). Structural Violence . Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology in the 21st. New York : Prentice-Hall.
In all of these possibilities--instinct, heredity, hormones, or brain dysfunction--the aggression occurs without apparent provocation from the environment (although there is almost always a "target"). According to some of these theories, the need or urge to be aggressive is boiling within each of us and seeks opportunities to express itself. There is also clear evidence that alcohol consumption and hotter temperatures release aggression, but no one thinks there is something in alcohol or heat that generates meanness. The socialization process, i.e. becoming a mature person, involves taming these destructive, savage, self-serving urges that probably helped us humans survive one million years ago but threatens our survival today.
Tribalism is the moral bias of putting the beliefs of one group over that of another group. A good example of this are the world religions. Another example that is close to home is immigration into the United States especially immigration through Mexico. This is a
Do Now about where we think violent behavior comes from, where I said violence comes as a result of aggression, which is natural, but having violent reactions is led/inspired by examples of