Are Humans Innately Aggressive?

chic said:
Maybe humans are aggressive because power is easier to handle than oppression? I mean who wants to be oppressed everyday of their lives?
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I'm not sure what you mean. Specifically, what person or people are you thinking of as being oppressed?

Like, I didn't think of myself as oppressed while I kept my nose to the grindstone for 40+ years. I thought of myself as a person who could take care of his family.

I would argue that only people with some type of personality disorder or a sense of entitlement are actively aggressive, and the rest of us are just minding our own business. Probably half of us would respond to aggression with aggression, and the other half would try to escape it, but that's survival instinct. (and equally effective)
 

somewhere I thought there was a question like - are humans innately agressive as a species or is that in another topic?
 
jpstrap said:
Not a projection based in science or logic, just my guess (as i stated) based on what I have experienced in life and judging from the way I perceive the non-advancement of society. My view based on my perceptions, my hunch. I agree it may take 5001 yrs.
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Considering the current feminization of men, I don't think it will take 5,000 years. Changes used to be slow --not any more!
 

I would say in life I have met quite a number of non-aggressive people of both sexes ; who I have never seen become aggressive ; slightly annoyed perhaps and aggrieved maybe but never aggressive. So maybe just maybe the aggressive gene if there is one remains dominant in some but not others as our species slowly evolves. Gorillas and chimps are known to be aggressive but also can at times live peacefully in their isolated and quiet habitats. We surely remember that amazingly famous shot of david attenborough meeting the apes and one flicking his hair!

so not all humans need to be excessively aggressive - in fact they are not - and I only guess but would consider the majority of humans are usually non-aggressive - from my observations on life!!
 
davey said:
I would say in life I have met quite a number of non-aggressive people of both sexes ; who I have never seen become aggressive ; slightly annoyed perhaps and aggrieved maybe but never aggressive. So maybe just maybe the aggressive gene if there is one remains dominant in some but not others as our species slowly evolves. Gorillas and chimps are known to be aggressive but also can at times live peacefully in their isolated and quiet habitats. We surely remember that amazingly famous shot of david attenborough meeting the apes and one flicking his hair!

so not all humans need to be excessively aggressive - in fact they are not - and I only guess but would consider the majority of humans are usually non-aggressive - from my observations on life!!
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Both our observations are valid....because they are just observations. You are citing individuals, I am citing history in general. I will stick with the not so "nicey-nice" view. Humans are, in my view, doomed for destruction as a species unless we can eliminate the drivers of the destructive urges.
 
davey said:
This thought or question was triggered for me whilst reading the topic on 'domestic violence' - I have been around it at times and certainly observed its effects in a lot of people. Alfie Kohn wrote this article nearly 40 years ago for Psychology Today. His comments and findings are just as relevant as they were then I believe. And yet 'domestic violence sometimes knows no abate ?' and we watch the human violence play out in the ME this very day and in Myanmar and Ukraine? Is human violence increasing ; staying steady or abating on this planet? and will it go on for evermore ??

aggression in humans?
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That's a very good article. I couldn't read it all right now because of time constraints but have added it to my home screen to read further and again.

I'm going to get back to you ASAP. I love articles like this and maybe because I studied so many similar in college. Thanks for posting that!
 
Murrmurr said:
How? There has always (or maybe nearly always) been a person or group, motivated by power and greed, who have conquered weaker, smaller, under-defended and otherwise vulnerable groups, and claimed their land and resources. And maybe there always will be. How do you do away with those people?...or, more correctly, how do you do away with their need for aggression?...which is obviously motivated by power and greed.
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How of course, is a totally different subject. And no, this person has no answers to our current situation so expects the worst. Not because of something innate within us as I believe many of we humans could be peaceful without resorting to totalitarian rule. But may need to forcibly isolate small numbers of individuals with an ability to harm the rest of us.

Sooner or later our current race given technology weapons will either totally annihilate both all humans and most of its intelligent life or a leave small numbers that will take centuries to restart, hopefully given hindsight, peacefully under a planet wide government power. Given we homo sapiens have diverse cultures, religions, philosophies, are racially somewhat unequal both physically and mentally due to evolving during millennia of rises of civilization, have a large number of independent nation states that are able to do whatever they wish within their own borders, and worst those in power are economically driven, our current doom seems inescapable.

Additionally, if war doesn't doom us, already readily designable bioweapons within rogue states or evil powers are eventually more certain to, that will make COVID-19 seem like a picnic. If so, they will kill all but those that have antidotes or vaccines.

The above noted, I wonder if our race has even a small chance to peacefully evolve from our aggressive warmongering present.
 
David777 said:
How of course, is a totally different subject. And no, this person has no answers to our current situation so expects the worst. Not because of something innate within us as I believe many of we humans could be peaceful without resorting to totalitarian rule. But may need to forcibly isolate small numbers of individuals with an ability to harm the rest of us.

Sooner or later our current race given technology weapons will either totally annihilate both all humans and most of its intelligent life or a leave small numbers that will take centuries to restart, hopefully given hindsight, peacefully under a planet wide government power. Given we homo sapiens have diverse cultures, religions, philosophies, are racially somewhat unequal both physically and mentally due to evolving during millennia of rises of civilization, have a large number of independent nation states that are able to do whatever they wish within their own borders, and worst those in power are economically driven, our current doom seems inescapable.

Additionally, if war doesn't doom us, already readily designable bioweapons within rogue states or evil powers are eventually more certain to, that will make COVID-19 seem like a picnic. If so, they will kill all but those that have antidotes or vaccines.

The above noted, I wonder if our race has even a small chance to peacefully evolve from our aggressive warmongering present.
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An increasingly interconnected world has given rise to global civil society movements advocating for human rights, environmental protection, and peace. As awareness of our shared fate on this planet grows, so does the incentive to solve problems cooperatively rather than resorting to destruction.

Humanity is not doomed or fated to annihilate itself. With wisdom, foresight and a commitment to resolving conflicts through dialogue rather than violence, we can build a more peaceful and sustainable world order. It will require continued hard work, but giving in to despair serves no one. We must have hope in our ability to make ethical progress.
 
then wot about the final armageddon and the rising of the beast 666 and the fight with 777 guess where - Israel or thereabouts - yes it will probably take a "Christ" figure to fix it all or remove it all??
 
Paco Dennis said:
An increasingly interconnected world has given rise to global civil society movements advocating for human rights, environmental protection, and peace. As awareness of our shared fate on this planet grows, so does the incentive to solve problems cooperatively rather than resorting to destruction. Humanity is not doomed or fated to annihilate itself. With wisdom, foresight and a commitment to resolving conflicts through dialogue rather than violence, we can build a more peaceful and sustainable world order. It will require continued hard work, but giving in to despair serves no one. We must have hope in our ability to make ethical progress.
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Wrong. It serves my purpose to enjoy and be productive for my own selfish peaceful purposes during my limited short lifetime of existence. Like a twig floating in the vast churning Mississippi River during flood, this peon has negligible ability to meaningfully affect or change the world I'm a passenger in. Thus as a Counterculture twentysomething decades ago, dropped in and tuned out. And those in power have just made it all much worse. So no personal regrets.

That is not to say those that do have power and wealth to affect the world or those young folks still potentially capable of doing so during their prime might share that attitude. For this old peon, that train left the station long ago.
 
David777 said:
How of course, is a totally different subject. And no, this person has no answers to our current situation so expects the worst. Not because of something innate within us as I believe many of we humans could be peaceful without resorting to totalitarian rule. But may need to forcibly isolate small numbers of individuals with an ability to harm the rest of us.
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You're describing jail/prison.
David777 said:
... I wonder if our race has even a small chance to peacefully evolve from our aggressive warmongering present.
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We are less aggressive and warmongering than ever*, so I think our chances are excellent.

*think Attila the Hun, Cyrus and Alexander the Greats, Genghis Khan, etc.
 
yes surely just a cursory glance back at history should support your views there Murrmurr - despite the prison popns [hmm forgot aboout them all locked away ]- but it seems even in prison atmospheres the aggression quota is low??
 
maybe we can all anger in differing degrees but it is how we handle it and respond to it that matters. I have watched experienced psychologists who I once worked alongside demonstrate how to do that well- I watched them do but NOT how they were doing it - it seems to be an internal mental processing thingy?
 
gruntlabor said:
Most of whom are corrupt. I believe we are doomed.
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I know what you mean. The system itself breeds corruption. But, he says, what is we started changing the system first? We would have to agree on principles to correct the system, but that could worked out. First an anti-corruption amendment to the constitution. :) Ok, the first thing is term limits. The second is pay and benefits. Then if we had a war, every on that votes for it automatically sends their son/daughter into battle. Next accountability of how our taxes are spent. Do you think we could change the system so corruption was nigh impossible? :) ( This is kind of a shooting in the dark post. )
 
Paco Dennis said:
I know what you mean. The system itself breeds corruption. But, he says, what is we started changing the system first? We would have to agree on principles to correct the system, but that could worked out. First an anti-corruption amendment to the constitution. :) Ok, the first thing is term limits. The second is pay and benefits. Then if we had a war, every on that votes for it automatically sends their son/daughter into battle. Next accountability of how our taxes are spent. Do you think we could change the system so corruption was nigh impossible? :) ( This is kind of a shooting in the dark post. )
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:) And I for one appreciate it. But, you know not a single one of your suggestions will ever happen. I believe there is only one (ineffective) thing we can do and that is to show our disapproval.
 
gruntlabor said:
:) And I for one appreciate it. But, you know not a single one of your suggestions will ever happen. I believe there is only one (ineffective) thing we can do and that is to show our disapproval.
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Ok..I am ready. How can I show my disapproval in a way that might be effective? I have tried ranting and raving! :)
 
Boycott the lot. Got it. We have to get our supplies from somewhere. I know that we are very choosy when making purchases, and look at the fine print details. I think learning to live with less is becoming more important now. Get your necessities met, and then have a little fun. Not the Taylor Swift concert kinda fun. :)
 
Humans may have started out simply trying to survive but eventually that turned into aggressively trying to conquer the world.

So I say yes, humans as a species are very aggressive.
 

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