A Peaceful Human Nature? Towards an Interdisciplinary Social Theory of Violence

• In Event: 4153 - Perspectives on Interaction, Conflict, and Discourse

Abstract

Are humans innately violent or peace loving? This question occupies public and interdisciplinary discourse since centuries. Ten years ago, Collins’ micro-sociology of violent confrontation revolutionized the way social scientists think about and analyze violence. Collins showed that violence is empirically rare and that specific situational dynamics, not actors’ urges, motivations or social context, are key to violence. His approach also put the idea of a human violent nature into question by claiming even actors motivated for violence face confrontational tension and therefore most violence does not erupt. The opportunities and limitations of his approach were explored across the social sciences since. Yet, the implications of Collins’ approach for theories on human peaceful or violent nature remain underdeveloped and his theory has so far not been integrated into a broader interdisciplinary discourse. This theoretical paper aims to address these gaps. It synthesizes the published literature and draws on empirical examples to examine (1) whether Collin’s theory, in particular his concept of confrontational tension and fear, implies a human inhibition to violent behavior and an innate peaceful human urge (2) whether violence research in other fields supports or contradicts Collin’s findings and what their position is on a human inhibition to violence and an innate peaceful human nature. This paper connects insights in sociology with findings in anthropology, neurosciences and primatology, arguing that findings on violence in each of the disciplines can be meaningfully combined. Findings suggest all disciplines provide evidence for a human inhibition to violence. They also allow expanding Collins’ theory, suggesting an inhibition did not evolve during civilization processes, but long before. Through connecting these approaches, the paper takes a first step in developing an empirically informed, tentative theoretical model on human violence and an innate peaceful human nature.

Author

• Anne Nassauer, Freie Universität Berlin