Suchergebnisse

Have humans always waged war? Is warring an ancient evolutionary adaptation or a relatively recent behavior--and what does that tell us about human nature? In War, Peace, and Human Nature, editor Douglas P. Fry brings together leading experts in such fields as evolutionary biology, archaeology, anthropology, and primatology to answer fundamental questions about peace, conflict, and human nature in an evolutionary context. The chapters in this book demonstrate that humans clearly have the capacity to make war, but since war is absent in some cultures, it cannot be viewed as a human universal.

Charting a new direction -- Do nonwarring societies actually exist? -- Overlooked and underappreciated : the human potential for peace -- Killer apes, cannibals, and coprolites : projecting mayhem onto the past -- The earliest evidence of war -- War and social organization : from Nomadic bands to modern states -- Seeking justices : the quest for fairness -- Man the warrior : fact or fantasy? -- Insights from the Outback : Geneva Conventions in the Australian bush -- Void if detached ... from reality : Australian "warriors," Yanomamö unokais, and lethal raiding psychology -- Returning to the evidence : life in the band -- Darwin got it right : sex differences in aggression -- A new evolutionary perspective : the Nomadic forager model -- Setting the record straight -- A macroscopic anthropological view -- Enhancing peace

This article examines differences in aggression between two Zapotec communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. An ethological study of three‐ to eight‐year‐old children (N = 48) reveals statistically significant intercommunity differences in children's serious and play aggression, corresponding to ethnographically observed intercommunity differences in adult behavior. The parallels between adult and children's conduct within the communities support the conclusion that different social learning environments contribute to the maintenance across generations of divergent ideologies, values, and patterns of social interaction related to violence or peacefulness. Social learning and socialization processes also can be viewed as interacting with economic, historical, and ideological influences. The findings suggest that studies of violence that neglect social learning influences may be providing only partial explanations.

Our story -- Evolution, ideology, and human nature -- Love, the brain, and becoming human -- The biology of experience -- The benefits of partnership and the costs of domination -- Two alternative social possibilities -- The original partnership societies -- Contracting or expanding consciousness -- Touch, intimacy, and sexuality in partnership and domination -- Environments -- Love, violence, and socialization in partnership and domination -- Environments -- The real culture wars -- A new beginning -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgments -- Index.

'Nurturing Our Humanity' sheds new light on our personal and social options in today's world, showing how we can build societies that support our great human capacities for consciousness, caring, and creativity. It brings together findings-largely overlooked-from the natural and social sciences debunking the popular idea that we are hardwired for selfishness, war, rape, and greed. Its groundbreaking approach reveals connections between disturbing trends like climate change denial and regressions to strongman rule.