Science & the Big Questions

Can Artificial Intelligence Help Stop Religious Violence?

Software that mimics human society is being tested to see if it can help prevent religious violence.

BBC

Topics: Belief Group Conflict Religious Groups Violence

Did Human Sacrifice Help People Form Complex Societies?

The debate over how well ritual killings maintained social order.

The Atlantic

Topics: Cultural Evolution Evolution of Religion Power Ritual Scientific Study of Religion Social Inequality Violence

Meditation May Not Make You a Better Person After All

A critical look at the research suggests its benefits are less than advertised.

Pacific Standard

Topics: Compassion Empathy Meditation Violence

Why Human Society Isn’t More — or Less—Violent Than in the Past

As populations scale up, the proportion of people killed in battle scales down, suggesting we’re no more or less violent than our forebears who lived in smaller societies.

Science

Topics: Violence

The Root of All Cruelty?

Perpetrators of violence, we’re told, dehumanize their victims. The truth is worse.

The New Yorker

Topics: Group Conflict Morality Violence

Scientists Battle Over Whether Violence Has Declined Over Time

Study of wartime deaths suggests that larger populations remain violent but find safety in numbers.

Science News

Topics: Violence

Our Enemies Are Human. That’s Why We Want to Kill Them

To understand why one person would actively desire to inflict suffering upon another, we have to look to a counterintuitive source: human morality.

Behavioral Scientist

Topics: Morality Violence

What Science Tells Us About Good and Evil

After a killing and a violent neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, the nation wrestles with why we commit such unspeakable acts.

National Geographic

Topics: Altruism Compassion Empathy Violence

Why Are People Still Racist? What Science Says About America’s Race Problem

Two psychologists explore the roots of racism.

Speaking of Science, The Washington Post

Topics: Bias Group Conflict Violence

Physical Remoteness Makes Killing Easier

People seem less reluctant to end the life of another being when they are not physically present for the distasteful act.

Pacific Standard

Topics: Ethics Morality Technology Violence