warfare

• war

  the formation of coalitions to attack others within the same species. only most intelligent species opt for this extreme course of action - likely to to end with injury/death

  contradictory to survival of the species - must have been assumed that benefits outweigh the costs
• success in war


  success - man achieving warrior status - increasing attractiveness to females - improving chances of reproductive success - continuing genetic line. also leads to more respect - greater dominance in group = more power in decisions

  • aggression & bravery in battle - benefit of status - access to woman - increased woman success
• supporting evidence


  many hunter-gatherer tribes fight for food, women and status

  • Yanomamo tribe from amazon - 40% of men have undergone a ritual which occurs when they have either killed / participated in killing another man. 1/3's of young men are murdered
  • research found a correlation between killing & reproduction
  • males who killed the most men had 2x many wives and 3x as many children than non-killers
  • aggression of men is a product of evolution to increase reproductive success
• criticism

  reductionist - reduces aggression to evolutionary instincts and the passing on of genes = focusing on nature

  neglects social factors when instincts will be modified by culture

  • example - the !kung San people of Kalahari have negative attitudes with aggression and people who are have their status reduced in the community. but in the Yanomamo tribe aggressiveness elevates their status
• general criticism

  biological determinism - suggests we have no free will

  • implies people have no choice over their violent behaviour as its determined by their genes = socially sensitive , excuses violent behaviour
  • example - sexual jealousy could justify male aggression towards females and warfare could justify gang violence
  • also socially sensitive as it labels men as aggressive = lead to stereotyping men as aggressive/violent and downplays the likelihood of males being victims of domestic violence