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Human Aggression and War

Human Aggression and War. PEAC 200: Introduction to Peace Studies Dr. Alan Forrest Spring 2012. The “BIG” question. To what extent is peace possible?. The menace of war. Einstein – is there any way of delivering mankind from the menace of war?. What is aggression?. Aggression

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Human Aggression and War

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  1. Human Aggression and War PEAC 200: Introduction to Peace Studies Dr. Alan Forrest Spring 2012

  2. The “BIG” question • To what extent is peace possible?

  3. The menace of war • Einstein – is there any way of delivering mankind from the menace of war?

  4. What is aggression? • Aggression • Intentional behavior aimed at doing harm or causing pain to another person.

  5. Is aggression innate or learned? • For centuries, scientists, philosophers, and other serious thinkers have been arguing about the human capacity for aggression. • Some are convinced that aggression is an inborn, instinctive human trait. • Others are just as certain that aggressive behavior must be learned.

  6. Why war? • Carl Jung – the shadow (dark) side • Dark side – unacceptable to one’s consciousness

  7. Aggression and war • Freud – a direct link between aggression (a behavior of individuals) and the social phenomena called war

  8. Freud asks • Does warfare pave the way to peace?

  9. Human instincts • Eros • Thanatos

  10. Why not accept war? • Why do we, you and I, and many others protest so vehemently against war, instead of just accepting it as another of life’s loathsome importunities?

  11. Abraham Maslow • Hierarchy of needs

  12. Konrad Lorenz • What is the value of all the fighting?

  13. Aggression among the lower animals • Chimpanzees are the only nonhuman species in which groups of male members hunt and kill other members of their own kind. • Bonobos, on the other hand, are known as the “make love, not war” ape. Prior to engaging in activities that could otherwise lead to conflict, bonobos engage in sex. This sexual activity functions to diffuse potential conflict. • The bonobo are a rare exception, however. The near universality of aggression strongly suggests that aggressiveness has evolved and has been maintained because it has survival value.

  14. Neural and chemical influences • Aggressive behaviors in human beings, as well as in the lower animals, are associated with an area in the core of the brain called the amygdale. • When the amygdale is stimulated, docile organisms become violent. • Similarly, when neural activity in that area is blocked, violent organisms become docile.

  15. Imitation and aggression • Social Learning Theory • The idea that we learn social behavior (e.g., aggression) by observing others and imitating them.

  16. The effect of war on aggression • When a nation is at war, its people are more likely to commit aggressive acts against one another. • Being at war serves to legitimize violence as a way to address difficult problems.

  17. Militant enthusiasm • Elicited by: • A social group with which one identifies self as being threatened by some outside danger; • The presence of a hated enemy from whom the threat to one’s values originates; • An inspiring leader figure • The presence of many other individuals all agitated by the same emotion

  18. The effect of war on aggression The fact that a nation is at war: (1) Weakens the population’s inhibitions against aggression, (2) Leads to imitation of aggression, (3) Makes aggressive responses more acceptable, and (4) Numbs our senses to the horror of cruelty and destruction, making us less sympathetic toward the victims.

  19. What would you do? • Would humans kill if they experienced the full emotional realization of what they were doing?

  20. If Hitler asked you to kill a stranger, would you? Probably. • Stanley Milgram studies – Obedience to authority… • 40 male subjects, variety of backgrounds • Told experiment was to study effects of punishment on learning/memory • learn word pairs • Teacher (subject) is to increasingly shock learner for wrong answers • 15 volts (“slight shock”) – 450 volts (“XXX”) • Learner (confederate) is strapped into chair, electrodes attached to arms • Not actually being shocked, but teachers don’t know this – pain sounds prerecorded • When teacher would question continuing, experimenter told him he must continue

  21. Final questions/thoughts… • If people are “naturally” inclined to be peaceful, why are there so many wars? • If people are “naturally” inclined to be warlike, is the hope for peace unrealistic and doomed to failure?

  22. Returning to the beginning • To what extent is peace possible?

  23. Inner peace We can never make peace in the outer world until we make peace within ourselves. ~Dalai Lama~

  24. Inner peace While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart ~St. Francis of Assisi ~

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