Violence as a social phenomenon

Stonda/Extended Mind

I was just wondering how violence has affected humans throughout history. From pre-historic man to the 21st century violence has been an uninvited guest in our lives. But how have humans survived in this violent world?

Is it our will to survive? You can see it even today in disasters and wars where people are forced to fight for their existence.

We have had wars (or small conflicts) in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. It's terrifying to see the influences of war around you but there are still many of us who think it couldn't happen to us. Why not?

Are we too civilized for that? No. There isn't anything which would threaten us. Wrong again. The human mind is mysterious. You can't predict what he or she is going to do next. It's also terrifying to see that few people in the world make the decisions which are (for example) going to lead us to war. Without any serious cause fighting against. Propaganda is working well still in nowadays. And what can we learn from this? World peace can't achieved in this decade.

Well...maybe in some time but not right now.

Nevertheless violence has helped us in some ways. We have had many great(?) inventions because of violence. Let's mention a few of them. Microwave oven, radar, space rockets/shuttles, Internet... etc... War or fear of getting involved with war always boosts up scientific research. We can't run away from it. Violence is and will be a part of us. It is probably in some way coded in our genes.

Yes, humans are violent. But that may not lead us to self destruction.

Stonda/Extended Mind
Toni Saarikko
stonda85@hotmail.com