Contents
The developments and theoretical conclusions presented by me in this book lead to very significant assumptions. The purpose of this chapter is to clarify these assumptions, as well as to summarize the main issues that I have discussed, and to put forward hypotheses about the factors that influence the emotional response of people in general and aggressive behavior in particular.
Different types of aggression: instrumental and emotional aggression
One of my main themes is the variety of types of aggression. Attempts to hurt or destroy other people occur differently and are caused by different biological and psychological processes, although any aggression is aimed at the deliberate infliction of pain on another person. Scientists involved in the study of the processes involved in the development of aggression are not always unanimous in determining the main types of aggression. See →
Is violence inevitable?
It is perhaps difficult or even impossible to completely eliminate violence from social life. Not because human beings are naturally evil or have an innate desire to kill and destroy. There is clear and undeniable evidence that the aggressive instinct assumed by Sigmund Freud, Konrad Lorenz and other theorists does not really exist. See →
Risk Factors
While I believe that it is virtually impossible to avoid or completely eliminate all factors that influence the occurrence of aggression, I do not mean that these influences are always very strong or that each of these factors necessarily generates open violence. Consider the role of poverty in violent crimes. See →
Violence control
While it is unlikely that humanity will ever eradicate violence from the face of the earth, there are some steps we can take to reduce the chances of attack or anger among people. Obviously, one of these steps could be to reduce the number of aggressive stimuli. It is equally obvious that in a free society this is extremely difficult to do. Even if we leave aside the complicated issues of the constitution, then at the social level, this step would be quite controversial. Quite a few people enjoy watching violent movies, others think they can protect themselves from dangerous intruders if they have a revolver at home. See →