Given Human Nature, is Violence Inevitable? Posted on February 11th, 2011 by

Violence is only inevitable when there is reason for it to be.

Violence, warfare, and aggression have become so engrained within our society that it has become an inevitable.  If we were to be able to revert to a clean slate, we could possibly avoid warfare all together by establishing necessary institutions for conflict resolutions.  These institutions would allow peoples with small disagreements to address their differences before those differences become a deadly force.  Political philosopher John Rawls proposes a particular situation, the Original Position, in which such institutions could be fairly and justly established.  In this Original Position, those deciding which institutions will govern society do not know their place in society, nor do they know much about what time period they will reside in during their life-time.  Therefore, the Original Position ensures that the most fair, just, and equal institutions are established to best govern society.  In this way, if those deciding the Original Position established a society that does not glorify nor know warfare, warfare would most likely not exist.  People are more likely to partake in things that they are familiar with, and if warfare is excluded in the Original Position, it can most likely be avoided in years to come.  Mead upholds similar sentiments arguing, “War is nevertheless inevitable unless we change our social system and outlaw classes, the struggle for power, and possessions, and in the event of our success warfare would disappear, as a symptom vanishes when the disease is cured” (Mead, 20).  If warfare were not engrained in the very veins of society, then warfare could be avoided.  Unfortunately, warfare is deeply engrained in today’s society.  Therefore, it can only be said that war is indeed inevitable because of our environmental surroundings.  Violence is only inevitable when it needs to be, and violence never needs to be inevitable.  Hopefully, in years to come, our violent surroundings will change to eliminate the potential of something so unnatural and unnerving to the human psyche that participating in it results in serious psychological damage.

 


One Comment

  1. Anna Sophie Le Constant says:

    I consider violence as unavoidable because it is instinctive. However, this destructive natural force should be controlled by societies and social structures. Indeed, this natural penchant for violence can be explained by survival values, cultural preservation, or desire for wealth. But considering this human tendency does not mean justifying it. I strongly believe that the main goal of human beings should be to try to handle this instinctive violence thanks to education, verbal power and thinking. The more we talk, study and learn about us and “the other”, the more we will be able to handle violence.