Are humans naturally violent? New research challenges long-held assumptions
Why it matters: This research fundamentally shifts our understanding of human violence, impacting how we address conflict.
- University of Lincoln research, led by Professor Bonaventura Majolo, found that mild aggression and lethal violence evolved distinctly, challenging the idea of a single aggression continuum.
- The study, published in Evolution Letters, analyzed five types of aggression across 100 primate species, including humans, revealing that lethal forms of violence are not strongly linked to everyday conflicts.
- Professor Bonaventura Majolo emphasizes that understanding the evolutionary roots of violence requires a more nuanced approach, as it's biologically inaccurate to rank species based on a general propensity for aggression.
New research from the University of Lincoln challenges the long-held assumption that human violence is a single evolutionary trait, suggesting that everyday aggression and lethal violence evolved along separate pathways. By analyzing 100 primate species, the study found that frequent mild aggression does not necessarily lead to lethal conflict, implying a more complex understanding of human nature.
