Science & the Big Questions

Data on Armed Conflict Reveals Patterns in Violent Chaos

A study of the size, duration, and actors involved in more than 100,000 conflicts suggests a model that can make quantitative predictions about the structure of war on large scales.

Cornell Chronicle

Topics: Violence

Extremist Violence Has Its Roots in Morality, Not Ideology

The ideology behind extremist violence looks remarkably like the “moral sentiments” of empathy, indignation, and shame that are presumed to confer fitness advantages in human social interactions.

The Evolution Institute

Topics: Emotion Group Conflict Group Identity Violence

Thou Shall Not Kill: An Analysis of Religion, Violence, and IQ

Like religion, higher IQ is associated with lower rates of antisocial behavior and crime.

The Boston Globe

Topics: Intelligence Morality Violence

Societies Are Tearing Apart, But They Can Be Brought Together

We must reduce the social distance between people and focus on shared human traits, says Adam Waytz, author of The Power of Human.

Open Future, The Economist

Topics: Adam Waytz Bias Cognition Group Conflict Power Violence

Bystander Effect: Famous Psychology Result Could Be Completely Wrong

The bystander effect purports that in situations such as a robbery or a stabbing, bystanders are less likely to step in if there are a large number of people in the area, so the likelihood of intervention decreases.

New Scientist

Topics: Violence

Does Religion Really Cause Violence?

A new review suggests any link is far from straightforward.

British Psychological Society Research Digest

Topics: Group Conflict Religiosity Violence

Ants, Humans, and the Lessons of War

Only humans and social insects have large enough populations to engage in all-out warfare. How do such conflicts arise?

Undark

Topics: Animal Studies Group Conflict Social Behavior Violence

Evolving Society: Why Humanity Coheres

Agustín Fuentes compares three books on the origins, trajectory, and implications of our group behavior.

Nature

Topics: Animal Studies Cooperation Group Conflict Human Evolution Violence

Following Conflict, a Turn to the Divine

Study shows that many who experience the trauma of war become increasingly religious.

The Harvard Gazette

Topics: Cooperation Group Conflict Religiosity Religious Groups Ritual Violence

How the Stanford Prison Experiment Gave Us the Wrong Idea About Evil

The Stanford prison experiment shaped our understanding of evil. It has led us badly astray.

Prospect

Topics: Group Conflict Power Violence

Wild Beast Within

Barbara J. King considers how cruelty made us human.

The Times Literary Supplement

Topics: Cooperation Human Evolution Violence

How Violence Pointed to Virtue

Primatologist Richard Wrangham’s new book examines the strange relationship between good and evil.

The Harvard Gazette

Topics: Cooperation Human Evolution Language Violence

War and Religion

Survey data from Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Tajikistan shows that people with greater exposure to war were more likely to participate in Christian or Muslim religious groups and rituals.

CIFAR

Topics: Religiosity Religious Groups Ritual Violence

Humans: The Domesticated Primates

As we became more peaceable, our bodies evolved along the lines of other tamed animals.

The Wall Street Journal

Topics: Human Evolution Violence

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

Why Siblings Fight But Colleagues Cooperate

Local competition stymies cooperation, whereas global competition fosters it.

Aeon

Topics: Cooperation Violence

A Potential Benefit to Memories of Terrorism

Amidst the horror there is altruism, which leaves a deep impression.

Scientific American

Topics: Altruism 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