Why do we live in such a violent world?

[SWM]

Is their something wrong with our society that we are surrounded by so much violence. it seems that the majority of us dont approve of violence. yet our leaders justify war and many of us support them. day to today our youth are killing each other with knifes and guns.

there must be something deep in the human psyche that says death is justifable violence is tolerable, becasue most all of us eat food that has been killed. even vegeterians are eating foods that in one form or another have been alive and have given or had their life taken to feed us. is this why we llive with so much violence.

is war really justifiable when it is in the defense of ourselves or does violence beget violence.

the youth that carries a knife to school, is he justified in doing so because he does this to defend his own life?

[Simplyme]

Broadly it can drive one quite manic trying to make sense of something that appears on the surface so senseless. However, in actuality all these things must be looked at and their individual circumstances reviewed before you can finalize judgment.

I do not think you can justify or compare a person stabbing a person in hopes of obtaining their wallet with war or a person stabbing someone in self defense. It is an individual perception in my opinion that reveals the difference between right and wrong.

[liza123]

vegetarians tend to be less violent than non-veges due to their food intake. vegetables do not feel pain unlike animals. nowadays, due to so much commercialisation,etc. animals are injected etc causing chemical reactions in their bodies...all these can influence a person 's temperament(what we eat is what we are is a saying!).

with regards to the dog-eating- dog society(modern culture), there are bound to be repercusssions...violence and the list goes on. parents are rushing to earn money, less time to monitor and spend time with children, etc....

what is the solution?

[anaklio]

These things come from our current culture. Scientists live in a subculture where it is perfectly acceptable to cut up cute fuzzy creatures. Activists live in a subculture where nonhumans have the same rights as humans. Neither one of these positions is better, they are just the way that subculture has come to function. So the key is for us to create a culture where violence is unacceptable. I'm on your team in seeking this goal SWM! It's going to be challenging, but we can do it :-)

[liza123]

These things come from our current culture. Scientists live in a subculture where it is perfectly acceptable to cut up cute fuzzy creatures. Activists live in a subculture where nonhumans have the same rights as humans. Neither one of these positions is better, they are just the way that subculture has come to function. So the key is for us to create a culture where violence is unacceptable. I'm on your team in seeking this goal SWM! It's going to be challenging, but we can do it :-)

How would stopping to cut cute fuzzy creatures stop violence? What about the progress made in the name of science and technology? Do you put a stop to that?

[Enigma]

As I said in another thread, we formed society because it conferred an advantage.  Today, society no longer confers an advantage but rather a disadvantage for a majority of the world's people.  This causes societies current social ills. 


PROTIP:  non-violence is a pipe dream.  Nature herself is violent.  non-violence is unnatural. 

[seekinghga]

Hedonism and violence are glorified in the media.  Television, movies, music, they all have these.  Children born in today's time are, as soon as able, exposed to these elements and it becomes "second-nature" to them.  They become desensitized to the outright abrogational quality of such acts.  Things such as murder and crime lose their austerity.

[liza123]

As I said in another thread, we formed society because it conferred an advantage.  Today, society no longer confers an advantage but rather a disadvantage for a majority of the world's people.  This causes societies current social ills.  


PROTIP:  non-violence is a pipe dream.  Nature herself is violent.  non-violence is unnatural.  

You are right. Nature is violent at times. Therein comes the balance, I think....
But, the point is that there is much more violence now than before as SWM said. Are you trying to say forming a society was a bad idea? Society was formed to have some sort of structure etc.

[Enigma]

I'm not saying forming society was a bad idea, I'm saying that our current global society is out of whack with society's true intended purpose, hence all the violence.  

[anaklio]

Studies in rats show that violence increases as the number of rats in the cage increases. Society is useful, but getting a bit outta hand.

[voodoo scientist]

Violence and the threat of violence is a perfectly good solution to a lot of problems. It's what makes me pay my taxes, for instance.

[liza123]

I'm not saying forming society was a bad idea, I'm saying that our current global society is out of whack with society's true intended purpose, hence all the violence.  

OK, I agree with you on that. Indeed, there have been lots of deviations along the way....

[La]

Did someone say lack of clearly defined respectful and kind boundaries?
L

[Karaten]

Violence is a behavioral adaption achieved through reality. Physical power is the ultimate deciding force, mental power, in the end, only controls it. The aware will realize that if all refuse to succumb to violence no matter what, they can control.

Two men argue over a chair. One explains his feet hurt, and that he needs it most. The other explains how he had a hard day and looking forward to that chair was how he managed to survive it. After much argument and debate, they come to peaceful resolution. They shake hands, both happy. Then a third man comes along, and pushes the other out of the chair, he then sits in it.

This is even proved to me by the prison experiment, where the violent force is in control and, basically, a peaceful attitude is a powerless one; a similar concept.

[voodoo scientist]

Violence is a behavioral adaption achieved through reality. Physical power is the ultimate deciding force, mental power, in the end, only controls it. The aware will realize that if all refuse to succumb to violence no matter what, they can control.

Two men argue over a chair. One explains his feet hurt, and that he needs it most. The other explains how he had a hard day and looking forward to that chair was how he managed to survive it. After much argument and debate, they come to peaceful resolution. They shake hands, both happy. Then a third man comes along, and pushes the other out of the chair, he then sits in it.

This is even proved to me by the prison experiment, where the violent force is in control and, basically, a peaceful attitude is a powerless one; a similar concept.

It's true: might makes right.