vincentML
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quote:
That's what's known as a meta-analysis, and in theory the conclusion should be as reliable as those of the individual studies.
Yes, I understand what the analysis is. However, my point was that quantifying the difference between "fatalities" and "murders" among mammal species is a dubious exercise because the resulting numbers require the judgment of investigators, and judgments are likely to be inaccurate or biased or both. So, garbage in, garbage out.
Additionally, analogous structures in mammalian brains often do not have the same function. For example, rats have a more highly developed olfactory function than humans.
I should think, if anything, the meta-analysis would be confined to humans vs the other five ape families. There we see quite similar DNA sequences. A case for heredity could be more convincing. And there we run into a problem. The Chimps are extremely aggressive and will attack chimps from other clans, whereas the Bonobos do nothing but hang out and fuck all day, and they would not dream of being aggressive.
quote:
We're a social species and spend our entire lives in close proximity to other people, while at the same time being incredibly diverse and widespread. Then there's our capacity for large-scale warfare...
The other apes are also social species and there is a boat load of behavioral studies available.
You bring up a good point about large-scale warfare. I cannot imagine how those deaths are counted. Are all deaths in war in fact murders? How about in combat?
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I don't necessarily doubt that we might have a predisposition towards violence, I just don't think this study is conclusive.
Well yeah, the study methodology sucks from the bottom up and is unreliable imo.
There are those who claim humans have a predisposition towards altruism, which is countervailing behavior. There is no reason to believe that these behaviors are binary. Obviously there are gradations. And that brings me back to the second point I made above: individual human behavior is determined in large part by early childhood experiences. Now, if you want to look at the outliers ~ the spree killers,the serial killers, the sexual cannibals, etc, you might make a case for genetic madness. But that does not confirm heredity. There are possibilities of genetic mutations and strand crossovers to consider.
If there is a genetic bases for human aggression (inborn evil) I should think there would be multiple gene strands involved. Behavior is very complex. Somebody would have to identify those genes to make a believer of me.
Finally, I offer this:
The other primates show us that we do not have specific, evolved patterns of heightened aggression, especially in males. Looking at the chimpanzee species demonstrates the potential for variability in the expression of aggressive and nonaggressive behaviors in our shared ancestors. War is common in the human experience today, but it is not a central part of our evolutionary heritage. We know that males and females differ in some facets of aggression, but a lot of those differences have to do with physical size and the social and experiential contexts in which they find themselves. We know that more aggressive, more violent, or more warlike males do not necessarily do better, either in humans or in our closest relatives.
Human aggression, especially in males, is not an evolutionary adaptation: we are not aggressive, big-brained apes. We know the regions of the brain and body that influence normal aggression. While our genes do not control or determine the normative expression of aggression, abnormal biological function can influence particular patterns of aggressive behavior. The nature of human aggression is not found in our genes, but understanding the function and variation in our biology can help us better understand the pathways and patterns of aggressive behavior. As a species we do not rely on aggression and violence more than cooperation; there is no pattern of evidence to support a notion that humanity is aggressive and selfish by nature. The myth of a human nature characterized by an intrinsic aggressiveness is simply not true.
And yet the popular press and much of the public (and some academics) hold the belief that there is a specific biology or a genetic basis for aggression, especially in males. Identifying the genetic key to aggression is not possible, because it does not exist.
There follows in this article a discussion of the parts of our brain. I call your attention to the regulatory activities of the prefrontal cortex and to the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex.
Nah, we are a bunch of sweethearts despite the anecdotal evidence presented in the media.
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vML
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ~ MLK Jr.
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RE: The human species and violence - 
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