War is Avoidable

1139 Words3 Pages

"Let's get together to fight this Holy Armagiddyon (One Love!),

So when the Man comes there will be no, no doom (One Song!).

Have pity on those whose chances grows t'inner;

There ain't no hiding place from the Father of Creation. "

Lyrics from the song "One Love" by Bob Marley

The question that I sought to answer with this paper was whether humans are biologically destined to wage war on one another. Admittedly, something of a broad topic. It seemed to me from news headlines and various history classes over the years that wars, in general, are fought over race, ethnicity or religion. Obviously, often the divides that exist between two ethnic groups don't surface in the form of war or conflict until an issue such as territory comes up. Yet even in territory disputes, the conflict itself still is rooted in the distinction the two sides see in one another: "no, you can't share this lake with us because you look differently/speak differently/worship a different god". Race is not a voluntary trait; it is genetically determined. Ethnicity is, to some degree, a plastic concept; created by human perception of boundaries and distinctions. Religion is an identity that one actively assumes, it involves participation and the adoption of a belief system. From this, one can see that the nature of the distinction is not so important as the distinction itself being made. From this, it would be easy to slip into the assumption that all it takes is the presence of difference to incite violence between populations; but this, I think, does not give humanity enough credit. My goal in this paper is to present an argument that while perhaps inclined, humans are by no means destined to wage war on one another.

Violence and war are, by m...

... middle of paper ...

... a lesser gain that was reliable and harmed no one else in the group. Around the world, the majority of subjects chose the latter option (1). Proving that while we are far from perfect, that it is not our fate to perpetually engage in self-destructive behaviors.

Sources

1) NYT article: 'Is War Our Biologic Destiny?'

http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/science/11war.html&OQ=pagewantedQ3D1&OP=e82c782Q2FWuXqWQ3CEa(TEEQ51Q2BWQ2BQ2AQ2AgWUUWUUW(a,XAaXWUUu_TRQ60Q51@N

2)Official Chimp Site of Jane Goodall

http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp_central/

3) Jane Goodall's main page

http://www.janegoodall.org/

4) NYT article 'Are Men Necessary?...'

http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/science/11men.html&OP=58320212Q2FWVJQ5DWXySL3yyQ7C!W!llgWQ22Q22WQ22Q22WLSQ5EJQ60SJWQ22Q22fJQ60dQ7BQ7Cf6

Open Document