Why are here? What is right and what is wrong? Who am I? Does life have a meaning? Humans are, evidently, inexhaustible sources of questions. For centuries, philosophers have meditated on such questions, this is what I would like to do today with you. I wish to present you some reflections on violence, a very relevant topic, or, at least, a very interesting topic to me.

But what is violence? Why is it so important? Violence is the intentional use of power, or of physical force against individuals that may result in injuries, whether physical, moral or even economic. Violence is, thus, a choice to reach an end by any mean. But what is the problem of violence? This may sound quite obvious, or even self-evident, but I believe that it is important to demonstrate why violence is unethical and against human nature.

Human nature exists, even if you deny it. "Man is by nature a political animal", as said by the philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC). This doesn't mean that we need politics to be human, it means that we are social creatures, it is impossible to live alone in this world, the only way that our species can survive is by forming a society. For example, the Homo neanderthalensis, an archaic human, was extinct 40000 years ago due to its lack of sociability, in the other hand, our species, the Homo sapiens survived due to our sociability, that capacity brings humans to another level: from an animal and brute state to a civilized state. Sociability reflects in many capabilities, such as language acquisition and cultural aspects.

As I have already stated, the only chance of survival is through society. The destruction of society would be, also, the destruction of our entire species and a society can only exist in the absence of violence. Aggressions and all other forms of violence are incompatible with the principles of any society, but what is a society? A society is a voluntary and collaborative union among individuals with the same objetive. To form such union, it is necessary and fundamental to respect other individuals, hence why violence and society cannot coexist. Paraphrasing the philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982): "Force and mind are opposites. Morality ends where a gun begins".

The use of violence is against our own nature: the nature of sociability and cooperation in order to achieve the same goals. It may seem, for some people, that violence is an easier way to achieve such goals, however, there is another big problem with this, the vicious cycle of violence. Once you start a violent action, the victim may also react, with a stronger and brutal response. It's not certain that we will reach our objetives through pacific and friendly contact, but it is certain that a non-violent behavior will set us closer to our aspirations, or, at least, towards them. It is also certain that none will be hurt, in any way, if we all assume a pacific position instead of a sanguinary and mortal behavior.

Thus, violence is against our own nature, since we are social creatures and our life as we know it depends on mutual respect. Violence, no matter how it is manifested, is always a tragedy and a defeat. It defeats our desire to construct a brighter and better future through a society and it is a tragedy for the victim, suffering and agonizing due to the perverse effects of brutality.

I hope you have enjoyed this post, questions and criticism are both welcome, feel free to comment below.

Violence exists because man needs to assert dominance over one another in order to stay alive.

Also you do know what Ayn Rand stood for right?

bashysmelly wrote on 1st January 2019, 10:39 PM:

Violence exists because man needs to assert dominance over one another in order to stay alive.
Also you do know what Ayn Rand stood for right?

I wouldn't say "dominance". We believe that we have "dominated" nature, for example, but, in fact, we are very dependent on it. And yes, I know Rand's thought and objectivist philosophy very well.

violence exists because i hate swirlie

xSugerbearx wrote on 2nd January 2019, 12:19 AM:

violence exists because i hate swirlie

Violence exists because swirlie is a furry bob has fleas you have ticks and all have lice except me

No but violence exists probably because maybe one person wants to seem more superior than another? I don’t know but it is a good question

CoolLloyd wrote on 1st January 2019, 10:42 PM:

bashysmelly wrote on 1st January 2019, 10:39 PM:
Violence exists because man needs to assert dominance over one another in order to stay alive.
Also you do know what Ayn Rand stood for right?
I wouldn't say "dominance". We believe that we have "dominated" nature, for example, but, in fact, we are very dependent on it. And yes, I know Rand's thought and objectivist philosophy very well.

That's the point of violence.

i'm not reading this

xSugerbearx wrote on 2nd January 2019, 12:19 AM:

violence exists because i hate swirlie

RIP Swirlie

Zelrus wrote on 2nd January 2019, 07:39 AM:

xSugerbearx wrote on 2nd January 2019, 12:19 AM:
violence exists because i hate swirlie
Violence exists because swirlie is a furry bob has fleas you have ticks and all have lice except me
No but violence exists probably because maybe one person wants to seem more superior than another? I don’t know but it is a good question

"Violence is not a means among others to reach the end, but a deliberate choice to reach the end by any means" -Jean-Paul Sartre

bashysmelly wrote on 2nd January 2019, 08:02 AM:

CoolLloyd wrote on 1st January 2019, 10:42 PM:
bashysmelly wrote on 1st January 2019, 10:39 PM:
Violence exists because man needs to assert dominance over one another in order to stay alive.
Also you do know what Ayn Rand stood for right?
I wouldn't say "dominance". We believe that we have "dominated" nature, for example, but, in fact, we are very dependent on it. And yes, I know Rand's thought and objectivist philosophy very well.
That's the point of violence.

Then violence is an illusion, lol.

Luke wrote on 2nd January 2019, 08:32 AM:

i'm not reading this

Legend

What if violence never happened

Tom080 wrote on 2nd January 2019, 07:51 PM:

What if violence never happened

That's a very interesting hypothesis, but it is hard to imagine the world without violence. I assume that it would be very different, but not necessarily "better".

CoolLloyd wrote on 3rd January 2019, 06:36 PM:

Tom080 wrote on 2nd January 2019, 07:51 PM:
What if violence never happened
That's a very interesting hypothesis, but it is hard to imagine the world without violence. I assume that it would be very different, but not necessarily "better".

Without vioelnce we wouldn't have advanced far in life