Some questions that I am sure has passed through everyone’s mind at least once is why are people violent? Why do people murder or hurt other people? The answers to these questions are not easily answered. It is clear that not everyone is violent, and perhaps some are only violent under certain circumstances. Which then leads us to addition questions on whether we all have the capacity to be violent. Are we all naturally violent creatures with those violent tendencies buried deep beneath the surface just waiting for something to set us off? Even so, where do these come from? Perhaps it is learned behavior from our society through the media, movies, and music we are constantly surrounded by. Or do we have our genetics to blame? Though we may never find complete concrete answers to the above questions, nature, and nurture, or our biology and our society in which we live, surely provide evidence as to the cause of why we are violent as humans. I see them both being equally important in playing a role in why …show more content…
Nurture has good points of both sides when it comes to deciding whether something is influenced by our biology or by our experiences within our society. Both present ideas when it comes to violence, offer a chance to look at the historical impact violence has had on our species. In Adriane Raines, “Basic Instinct”, he talks about evolutionary biology and the selfish gene that is aimed at gaining the resources to survive, reproduce and care for our offspring. His idea of “fitness” as a means of passing down genetic material is the driving force of all behavior. This behavior being passed down from generation to generation is what is keeping the driving force alive. In agreement with, this I believe that the ultimate goal as a human is to survive and at any cost. This idea makes you wonder the ultimate goal of life, we are here to reproduce, survive while doing it and keeping out offspring safe so they can do the
Humans are drawn to acts of a primal nature. Raw, passionate, and vastly entertaining; primal instincts have always been at the root of human behavior. Archeologists say that the first humans were found with spearheads embedded in their ribcage. Mankind’s curiosity will always be sparked by the thought of bloodshed. Just look at the entertainment we as a species hold most dear; violent action films, movies about war, videogames based solely on the concept of killing the opponent, the list in never-ending. The fascination around violent acts is understandable. Since the invention of society, the act of killing another human has been frowned upon by the rest of society. The contrast of the acts of violence to the norms of everyday life are hard
One popular theory suggests that many murderers are the product of our violent society. Our culture tends to approve of violence and find it acceptable, even preferable, in many circumstances (Holmes and DeBurger 27): According to research done in 1970, one out of every four men and one out of every six women believed that it was appropriate for a husband to hit his wife under certain conditions (Holmes and DeBurger 33). This emphasis on violence is especially prevalent in television programs. Violence occurs in 80 percent of all prime-time shows, while cartoons,
Modern biology is focused more on understanding behavior, like violence and crime, through research on indicators and influences. Rather than attempting to determine a single root cause, researchers are discovering markers of predisposition and identifying factors of risk. In a recent interview about his new book, The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime, criminologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Adrian Raine asserts that there is a “biology of violence” that should not be ignored; “Just as there’s a biological basis for schizophrenia and anxiety disorders and depression… there’s a biological basis also to recidivistic violent offending” (Gross, 2013).
Violence shows it face in many forms. It is slowly taking over the youth of our society, and becoming more prevalent than ever. Is it really environmental factors that are the cause of violence in our youth today? Or is the increase in violence to be blamed on a group of variables, that together, create the perfect recipe for disaster? In the book, Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them, author Dr. James Garbarino discusses possible reasons that childhood aged boys are experiencing violence that is carried into their adolescent years. Also, Dr. Garbarino expresses a similar rise in violence in young girls in the book See Jane Hit: Why Girls are Growing More Violent and What Can be Done About It. He looks at elements from birth to adolescence, including cultural influences that may not play as big of a role as one may suspect.
Is aggression an innate and deterministic quality from birth, or is it something that one that all can control, as a matter of free will and choice, to be used when we need it in a calculated manner? At birth all people are born with aggression as a survival trait. As we educate ourselves as we have seen in the video “The Truth About Violence” even in an educated culture such as the United States we still have violence. Violent people and we are drawn to violent sports such as cage fighting and football. Even the most mild manner people who don’t like violence in movies, sports or anywhere else can find enjoyment from participating in violence. When a person results to violence I don’t believe they can control the amount of aggression
In Macbeth many motifs are expressed through the duration of the play. One theme that is prominent in the play is the idea that nothing is as it seems to be; this theme is represented by the three witches, Macbeth, Banquo, and Lady Macbeth.
There are two main arguments supporting the idea that aggression and violence are biological and therefore inevitable in our world. In their essay Genetic Seeds of Warfare: Evolution, Nationalism and Patriotism, Paul Shaw and Wong Yuwa, in a darwinistic approach to human nature , argue that aggression is natural in the animal
During our lifetime every one of us feels anger and aggression occasionally, some more than others, maybe as a child in the play ground or later as an adult when somebody cuts you up when you are driving along. But what causes anger and aggression and why do we all suffer from it? Well there are lots of different theories to what causes aggression and where aggressive behaviour comes from. So throughout this essay I will examine the different concepts and theories from different psychologist and develop and show an understanding of Aggression
After viewing Origins of Human Aggression (The Nature of Things), I learned a lot about origins of human aggression. In the first part of the video, it focused on 2 year old children and how aggression is derived. The video states a study shows that signs of aggression start within the first couple months of a newborn’s life (Maher, Origins of Human Aggression (The Nature of Things). This study within the video I believe is accurate. I was told by my parents that as I grew I began to be more aggressive. The older I got, I began to do things such as: throw objects, hit people, and throw a tantrum if I could not get my way. One time I cried for an hour just so my mother would buy me a pair of shoes. Throwing that tantrum got me my way, but
The nature versus nurture debate is an ongoing debate among social scientists relating to whether ones personality/personal characteristics are the result of his/her inherited genetic traits or the result of environmental factors such as upbringing, social status, financial stability, and more. One of the topics that are discussed among psychologists is the study of violent behavior among people as a whole, and in particular, individuals. Social scientists try to explain why people commit acts of violence through explanation of either side of the nature or nurture schools of thought. However, the overwhelming amount of research done into the relation of violent behavior and the nature versus nurture debate indicated that nurture is the primary explanation to explaining violent behavior because violent traits are learned from adults, someone’s social upbringing is a major factor to why some people are more violent than others, and finally influences from news media, movies, and video games enhance the chance for someone to exhibit violent behavior. In conclusion, violent behavior is a complex issue without a clear explanation that is overwhelmingly supported by the nurture side of the debate.
What has our society come to these days? Everywhere we look, violence is present, at the streets, at work, at school, and even at home. Every day in the news we see reports about shootings, wars, thefts, drugs, rapes, and deaths. The worse part of seen this in the news is that all way do it’s complain about it and sit back. We do not even attempt an explanation or a resolution. Violence is among one of the most malignant act that has been increasing day by day. And why is it that we complain about other people being violent, but when we are asked if we are violent or if we have ever responded with violence, everyone says they are not violent. But if among ourselves we are not violent then who is it that makes our society a violent society?
Jesus went with his apostles to the northern section of Israel, the gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon. While there, a Canaanite woman from that region approached them crying: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” Even though Jesus heard her he did not say a word to her. St. John Chrysostom in his Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew tells us that He did not answer her because He knew the great gift that He would give her. His silence wasn’t to ignore her, but so that she would persevere and through persistence build humility which would “reveal the treasure laid up in her”—that of knowing her relationship with God.
There are two sides to many things, one could argue that there are two sides to everything. Violence is not excluded from this argument. The two possible sides, or viewpoints, that are a result of violence can easily be seen as extremes of either side. One side could argue that violence is something that is necessary and the other argue that violence is only a tool for destruction. People who insist that violence is necessary in order to move forward view it as a way to sway the outcome to their benefit. For those who see violence as a cowardly tactic to control people, violence is a useless display of power and dominance. Yet violence has also been a way to defend oneself from people who pose a threat. This can lead people who have good
A range of studies assert that causes of violent behavior are complex at the level of environmental influence and compare other learning, modelling and disinhibiting factors. This is an area where opposition to the hypothesis is more common. Two longitudinal studies assessing levels of violence pre-and post the introduction of television found a positive correlation, however
In A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift he discusses a solution to poverty in Ireland during the 18th century. Swift’s bizarre, yet well thought out plan for helping families of Ireland, who were in poverty and desperately in the need of money, was fattening children and selling them to the wealthy landowners. He thought that this would be an excellent way for children not to be a burden on their parents but be beneficial. Swift even went on to write a pamphlet telling the parents just how they could fatten their babies and the perfect age and weight for the kids to be before selling them. One of Swift’s friends goes on to give some helpful/ tasty ways that the kids can be cooked before eaten. Swift’s proposal does not only financially