Need we always shoot ourselves in the foot?

Discussion in 'Science & Society' started by charles brough, Apr 9, 2011.

  1. charles brough Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    476
    The subject of human violence really was a hot topic after Audrey's book, "the Killer Ape" came out in 1967. He did over-stated his case, but it has been a challenge race ever since for social scientists to find ways and evidence to show that we are, instead, a pacifistic, peace-loving, placid-natured good-old-boy super primate species.

    I am reminded of the howler monkey. They go each day to the borders of their territory and "hurl insults" at those of their kind in the neighboring territory. Then they go back to feed feeling much better. When we were hit at 9/11, we got so fearful/angry that we backed Pres. Bush into being our Alpha male and mobilize us to go to war. The 9/11 enemy cost us 3,000 lives which we have doubled in servicemen deaths since and added tens of thousands, possibly 100,000 more lives among the civilians of Islam. We do all this while claiming to be sitting up on "high moral ground."

    We are a territorial, social-group species that naturally likes to extend its territory and is evolved to live in small hunting-gathering troops in which the men operate as either hunting teams or war parties. This is evolved into our nature and is not being evolved away. It is up to us to understand it, come to terms with it, and deal with it in ways that are to human advantage.

    If we were reminded of our nature, we might not have responded to the 9/11 attack so aggressively and dealt with the terrorist network with so much expense and destruction. That way, we would not have alienated Muslims and ended in such a humiating financial melt down and the pile up of debt.

    Brough,
    http://civilization-overview.com
     

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