http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
Summary
Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence.
negativity sells, my take. Wicked Theory!
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
Summary
Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence.
negativity sells, my take. Wicked Theory!
[/quote]
Is this not abundantly obvious? People in Rome used to watch men kill each other for fun. If you had a disagreement in Colonial times you would duel. In the old west, you took it outside shot at each other. And were it not for radical Muslims, the world would be even less violent.
[quote]eic wrote:
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
Summary
Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species’ existence.
negativity sells, my take. Wicked Theory!
[/quote]
Is this not abundantly obvious? People in Rome used to watch men kill each other for fun. If you had a disagreement in Colonial times you would duel. In the old west, you took it outside shot at each other. And were it not for radical Muslims, the world would be even less violent. [/quote]
It’s completely obvious. The problem comes from the willingness most have to believe in “end of days” theories. How often have you heard “what is this world coming to?”. I;m sure it happens often.
Any ideas not mentioned in the video as to why? Or, if you didnt watch, how do you explain the myth of increasing violence?
In what time increments are you considering in talking about peaceful times because this century from 1910s till 2010 was the bloodiest one seen in history.
He did not mention much new to me.
Anybody who can think knows all that already, but I appreciate it.
It is a bit surprising, he did not mention Foucault and his theory about the decline in violence.
A criminal can be deterred by propability of detection and conviction and the severety of punishment.
In civilized countries conviction rates are high, so there is no need for cruel punishment.
You can see that in crappy countries such as China or Iran, there are not enough resources to provide a good surveillance and investigation.
Hence the need for overzealous punishment.
The fact that we have media coverage of the violence now does not mean it is any more or less prevalent than it was say a thousand years ago.
That said, the idea of human rights is a modern construction that really came into existence due to the Enlightenment period (writers such as Descartes and Locke) and, and the modern definition of the idea has come around really since about the late 19th century (think about the treatment of factory workers pre-union days).
The developed world has a certain idea about how people should interact sans violence, developing (and failed) nations tend not to have the same idea. Look at Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen all of which are very poor and on the verge or have failed. Violence is an everyday part of life there, it is not unusual for people to murder each other for something as simple as revenge against a slight to one’s manhood. Mark Bowden’s novel “BlackHawk Down” has a great description of the value of life seen in developing nations, and how we viewed it in the past. “In America you can kill but not negotiate, in Somalia killing is negotiation”.
Fact of the matter is we are naked monkeys, who are prone to violence- the idea that violence is bad is a construction of the modern world.
You can pretty much account this for the rise of democracies since the 1600s, and given the shitstorm that was the 20th century, the rise of international organizations that will make war even less likely in our future.
Unless the world’s resources dwindle, or in some circles if China becomes as technologically advanced as the U.S. but given the fact that we are interdependent it’ll take some crisis for two prosperous nations to declare war.
I like humans. We work incredibly well together when you think about it. It’s just a few of the nuts that give the others trouble.
It’s like in that shitty movie “Fight Club” where buddy says it’s really hard to start a fight. Most people just walk away and give you a funny look.
I’m not saying I’ve tried that, but we’ve all seen the drunk guy hanging around outside of the bar giving others looks, trying to get into a fight but most no one will take them up on it.