Why Does Violence Continue To Persist In The Human Species?

With all the recent crimes against humanity that have occurred in recent months, I've always wondered why exactly do we see these atrocious events continue to take place. Even when the sensationalized media isn't reporting an event of ridiculous violent proportions, this stuff still goes on. Now a disclaimer for those who vehemently disagree with my opinion on violence, I'm more than likely wrong so I advise anyone/everyone reading to fact check.

Now the reactions that the public has in regards to violent events, whether it be; Terrorism,slaying of LEOs, LEOs killing young people,rape/sexual assault (of men and women) and/or armed robbery, The reactions always tend to be from the majority opinions in populations of the public. Whom politicize a segment(s) of the event to fit their own version of reality. Of course not everyone falls for it, which is why you'll have alternative info sources voluntarily putting their own narrative into current events(e.g Right Wing Org, Young Turks) although that it isn't much better than what MSM sources do.


The media doesn't even have to spoon feed the words to the public anymore, people are already jumping to conclusions and filling in the missing blank spots with their personal preconceived ideals of reality like a #ing mad-lib. This often tends to happen when people lack the proper information and/or facts to coherently form a cogent,logical summary of the event(s) in question.
With much of the information accessible by the public, much of it has been filtered or altered by the owners or majority holders to fit a particular perspective to get us to fill in the blanks our selves with whatever personal scapegoat we have. Many than began to start with an already biased state of affairs, however to began deducing the motive of any person or group from that perspective is an illogical endeavor as you lack the proper information to formulate an objective opinion.

Getting back to the topic at hand,
if we look at this from an evolutionary psychological perspective. We began to see why exactly violence is such an active behavior, traits that promote aggressive behavior are usually inherited by those whose parents were more than likely aggressive themselves or inherited similar traits, right?
Aggression was also a survival tactic as well as mood to show your displeasure, it's predominately found in human males(in part due to testosterone, although female humans can be just as aggressive) and since human males were primarily the protectors (due to them being the predominant inheritors of aggressive behavioral traits)of their tribes,family and primitive hominid societies.
For males this helped with sexual competition, killing females or other males for sexual infidelity. It also helps with societal competition, to assert ones dominance over another. For females humans, in the distant past(and some still today in some form) found this to be an attractive trait in male humans as it meant to the female human that her and her offspring stood a greater chance of survival; E.g Greater access to resources in comparison to lesser aggressive males, Offspring in their youth are at a reduced risk of being harmed by other males or animal species. Overall it was sign to the female that aggressive males had better traits for survival.

Now emotional states of being(like aggression)have a tendency to allow us to concentrate our mental energy on one (or more than one)particular aspect of a given situation and it may also distract us from performing tasks efficiently. Let's say for example you have to pick up a friend from out of town, on your way out the door you get in a fight with a roommate over the cleanliness of the living space. This argument might get you emotionally charged and your more focused on the argument than your driving ability, thus altering your overall performance of the task. This emotional state (any emotional state) will more than likely effect your ability to perceive reality and ultimately altering your ability to perform any task correctly and efficiently.

So tying this in with our evolutionary history, I think it's more than likely that most of the violent acts we see,hear or feel are going on in the world come down to mental illness. I'm sure a few (or many) will disagree with that assessment but I think that much of the mental illness going on is associated with pent up aggression/hostility going unchecked or being implicitly ignored. Aggression or hostility against someone or something abstract like an opposing ideology can accumulate for years, decades even. I also think mental illness can be attributed to certain genetic mutations that have a significant impact on the brains ability to function efficiently. Certain genes can effect the shape of the brain and this effectively alters the performance of the brain. All of this combined with media sensationalism and you can turn a seemingly normal person into a lunatic willing to harm others in the name of their beliefs. A form of conditioning if you will.


Since the public in the last 100 years has gained greater and greater access to information, people are becoming more politically involved in all affairs that politics encompasses. Of course there are some draw backs as mentioned above.
What I think we are seeing now is ideological extremists trying to get their voices heard in public forums after years of their voices being neglected or ignored, the pent up aggression towards other opposing ideologies,philosophies and people could exist for a variety of different reasons prior to the actual violent acts. Although I think it's prudent to say much of the topical divides that permeate in human societies are exacerbated by the constant exchange of ideas in both public or private discourse.

In short, our discussions of ideas only furthers the persistent divide in the human family, the media preys upon those divides and regurgitates it right back to us in a different format because there's a public demand for entertainment and everything has to be marketable. If you want politics to be sold on every Optic TV and/or internet live stream you got to make politics entertaining and this deviates us away from actually solving any of the actual problems that exist. Which is why you have state sanctioned "actors"(politicians) who control our governments. We've turned a medium of sharing ideas and coming up with solutions into a goddamn competitive circus and the majority seen to enjoy it.
Mean while you have all the ostracized and neglected wackos and lunatics coming out of the shadows using violence as a medium for voicing there opinions,people just eat it up and digest it to fit their own version of reality all while enjoying it. This keeps occurring because these psychos know there's a demand for mass killings and the media is the one selling it to us. Human societies are to blame for the continuous mass killings,the rape, the racism and discrimination against ones autonomy of all flavors. We the people have devolved into nothing more than a bunch of self righteous,bickering children and nothing gets done to solve the problem.

a reply to: NateTheAnimator

Most probably because it is an advantageous evolutionary trait. Hate to be so blunt but we are ALL the descendants of those who were the most aggressive, evolutionarily speaking. It's how nature works for the most part.

Evolution.

Survival of the fittest.

For the vast najority of human history there was frequent scarcity of resources.

because contrary to overly optimistic expectations humans are not evolving into enlightenment or some sort of mythical advanced being. we are the same as we ever were. mankind cannot perfect itself. we are not going to evolve into godhood either.

From a cultural anthropology standpoint...man is still a tribal, primitive, territorial, violent species of apes with language.
Technology results from a few smart apes doing all the real work not evolution of the species.
From my perspective we are in a state of deevolution reverting back to being more primitive, simple minded and violent with intellectual advancement on the decline.

It's not just a few crazy individuals running amok it's whole systems reverting back to primitive ism ....I hold WAR as the prime example. How far have we really come when our technology is a direct result of research on how to kill each other more efficiently. Using sky beings [God] as our motivating factor....yeah real smart!

Look at our entertainment and sports and our heroes.....intellectuals and artist...nope, violent muscular inarticulate numbskulls.

And if we continue on this path we will eventually destroy ourselves....once again...Yeah, real smart!

a reply to: olaru12

I concur, It is just entropy playing its role in human societies. Though would you not think that maybe the DE-evolution is causing humanity to go collectively insane and the few individuals who act violently are attempting to voice their opinion in a screwed up fashion in an already screwed up world? They do it because maybe violence is the only way to get the reaction they need from the public at large?

a reply to: NateTheAnimator

We are an apex predator with (somewhat) high intelligence, we only have to compete with each other now and most of the challenges we face in our life are caused by our own species. That's why we mainly channel our aggression towards each other.

Kinda makes you wonder what state the rest of the universe might be in if intelligent apex predators that coalesce into competitive civilizations are the only ones that ever make it off a planet.

a reply to: NateTheAnimator

Yep, Malthusian theory in all it's glory, and we get to observe it up close and personal!

Because we're sentient and the smarter creatures become the more our personalities and behaviors differ which creates conflict.

originally posted by: stormbringer1701
because contrary to overly optimistic expectations humans are not evolving into enlightenment or some sort of mythical advanced being. we are the same as we ever were. mankind cannot perfect itself. we are not going to evolve into godhood either.

It would seem we are de-evolving.

a reply to: BelowLowAnnouncement

Kinda makes you wonder what state the rest of the universe might be in if intelligent apex predators that coalesce into competitive civilizations are the only ones that ever make it off a planet.

Well if that's the case, yeah the universe is probably pretty screwed up as well. How ever I doubt every interstellar civilization is competing among themselves for resources, its highly probable they may have solved that problem. How I do not know.

originally posted by: Puppylove
Because we're sentient and the smarter creatures become the more our personalities and behaviors differ which creates conflict.

That is and always has been down and dirty human nature condition (survival); where we rise out of this behavior is to negotiate laws, implement them so that everyone can live/abide by them; the result is a safer environment.

Why Does Violence Continue To Persist In The Human Species?

Because for all your vaunted advancement, shiny baubles & so called civilization, humans are still born & bred from tooth & claw just like any other beast on this rock.

Humans are still just animals, some smarter & better able to cope with complexity, while many others are not.
I know humans like to believe they are special, some how above their beginnings but the mindless beast is still there.
It's just below the surface of your civility & it takes very little to reveal itself for some.

Better breeding & education will be needed to continue the species in a harmonious fashion.
Perhaps CRISPR can help.

K~

a reply to: stormbringer1701

because contrary to overly optimistic expectations humans are not evolving into enlightenment or some sort of mythical advanced being. we are the same as we ever were. mankind cannot perfect itself. we are not going to evolve into godhood either.

How does having a pessimistic view of the human species help improve the quality of the human race? I don't see how it does, I'm hoping the human race could evolve for the better, we each need to put effort into that objective by reducing aggression and promoting empathy and altruism. It would have to be a collective effort, although you're probably more than right humanity is not evolving to some enlightened state of being.

Violence is a tool, like any other, a product of nature. How we use the tools we have is what defines, overall, how we view the results.

I can't build a house with just a hammer. But many people will try.

Some people view violence as the magical hammer by which they can build their own house.

I prefer to use violence as a part of my toolbox. I am not afraid of hurting other people, or even killing, but I am not willing to use just the hammer to get from life what I want.

I am not a violent person. I am only willing to use violence, either defensively or offensively, as a means to secure my self and others.

a reply to: NateTheAnimator

Chemistry and evolution.

Violent people lead lives that often result in imprisonment or death. They are more often removed from the gene pool than before and I believe that will have long-term effects. I don't believe evolution will ever completely dissolve humanity's sickness of violence but it will reduce it.

To remove human violence from our reality completely will take science. Many factors cause a person to be violent: genetics, hormones, environment, etc.

I would be interested to see a world where every human had an implant that caused varying levels of physical and emotional pain when the person exhibits violence. If you have a violent thought, you may get a slight headache and actually assaulting another person or causing them harm would result in an aneurysm. Essentially, it would give people that don't have empathy a substitute for it.

Willful harm is pretty much the only evil in my opinion. Solving it would be one of the most divine things our species could accomplish.

a reply to: vethumanbeing

I disagree that as we become smarter we will become better. Nature has proven otherwise. Look at humans and every other species that has acquired anything near sentience.

Dolphins can be as bad as the worst frat boys. Chimps wage war and commit other atrocities. Orca are often purposely cruel to their prey, catch with a live sea lions being a common fun activity. I could go on, but I digress.

Humans being smarter are worse than all of them. The less intelligent a species the more similar all it's members are, and while conflict still exists, it's simpler and more rudimentary in scope. Whereas the smarter a being becomes, the more varied and greater that conflict becomes, and the grander in scope the cruelty that comes with it.

This is not to say all humans or dolphins or orca or chimps are monsters. In fact most of them probably aren't, but with sentience comes great variety. When most of a species seeks only to live it's day to day it takes only a few bad apples to ruin the whole bunch.

The more sentient beings become the more psychologically varied a species becomes, as the more sentient the more mental variance that can be expressed in an individual.

It is for this reason I think the aliens with the perfect harmonious society is a load of horse poo. If any aliens claim such they're probably full of crap and pulling one over on you.

Intergalactic space trolls that so many of them seem to be.

originally posted by: projectvxn
I am not a violent person. I am only willing to use violence, either defensively or offensively, as a means to secure my self and others.

From violence, though, right? If you were the only human capable of violence, would you ever express it?

Violence is nothing new

It goes back all through history, for thousands of years

Man is just a violent species, that simple
Always has been, always will be
Sadly, nothing will change that

It's just more in-your-face now with 24/7 cable channels and social media