-
Asked by picklez to Fiona, Jane, Joanna, Michelle, William on 19 Jun 2010 in Categories: General.
Question: Why do we fight our own kind?
-
Joanna Brooks answered on 17 Jun 2010:
Hello, good question. I think the main reason is that even though we don’t need to fight over resources any more – like food or shelter – people are just greedy for power. Everyone wants to be a leader and everyone wants to have control. And people sometimes get so jealous of other people that they will do anything they can to get what they want. Research has shown that some people have certain personalities that make them more prone to this type of behaviour than others.
-
-
Jane Henry answered on 17 Jun 2010:
We fight our own kind for various reasons: On the whole we do not fight those we identify with as part of own group but are more likely to fight humans who we do not view as part of our group.
A lot of fighting in humans is down to the mind and its beliefs. Many wars are fought over ideologies, religious or otherwise, that nations or their leaders come to identify with. Here the trouble often starts when you think you have a right to impose your beliefs on others.
A complex brain starts to solve problems, evaluate likes and dislikes and pretty soon has a lot of internal talk going on, that includes a self image, beliefs and a group to which they feel they belong, and are prepared to fight to defend.
One idea is that as we get older we identify with ever larger groups – family, friends, subcultures e.g goths, nations, ideologies e.g liberal democracy. Those who feel like citizens of the planet maybe better able to empathise with people with different values and less likely to feel the need to prove they are right so may be less likely to fight their kind than some members of gangs whose concerns are more about defending their territory and being ‘cool’.
Hormones also play a part, sometimes you get an adrenalin rush in dangerous situations and fight to save your life, like racing over others to get out of a burning building. Sometimes people are in competition for limited resources and fight to survive, This may happen in some parts of the world as we get ever more people on the planet, who may feel the need to fight over limited water resources for example.
Testosterone also plays a part, its often young men between the ages of 15 and 24 that are involved in fighting each other. I’m told they tend to fight less once in a settled relationship with a girlfriend!
There appears to be a one or more genes that can incline members of some families to be more violent. Some American criminals have apparently argued for leniency in US courts on the grounds they cannot control themselves because of a genetic predisposition to violence. -
Michelle Murphy answered on 17 Jun 2010:
This is mainly caused by greed. People battle over things like money, power, land (oil) and reputation (things like religion). If you think about survival of the fittest, land and wealth as well as reputation may suggest that you are a good mate and increase your chance of survival which is probably where this stems from.
-
Fiona Randall answered on 18 Jun 2010:
Hi picklez,
I think it goes back to our evolution and survival of the fittest. There are always things people with minds are going to disagree on. There is also evidence very recently that a brain chemical called oxytocin actually makes you a better team player in your own team, but enhances agression towards people on another team. So it is likely that the competitive streak is enhanced in team play when people are on opposite teams. Would be nice if we could eliminate that! -
William Davies answered on 19 Jun 2010:
we are just like every other animal in that we fight our own kind – it’s because members of the same species are in the greatest competition for things like territory, food, access to sexual partners, and dominance of the group. many people argue that the war in Iraq was over oil – this is fighting over territory on a global scale
Comments