{"id":177938,"date":"2017-05-26T14:04:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T08:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=177938"},"modified":"2017-05-31T00:01:17","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T18:31:17","slug":"is-violence-inherent-to-human-beings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/is-violence-inherent-to-human-beings\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Violence Inherent To Human Beings?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Laksiri Fernando<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Laksiri Fernando<\/p><\/div>\n

This short article aims to answer one significant comment by Dr\/Prof Lasantha Pethiyagoda to my previous article titled \u201cManchester Carnage and the Need to Combat Terrorism and All Forms of Violence<\/a>\u201d. I thank for the comment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The comment in full<\/a> was as follows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the writer seems to sincerely believe that violence can be eradicated from human behaviour, he has not researched the fact that violence in human history has always been present and is an inherent feature of the human mind, together as groups or as individuals. Our thoughts are often violent, although we restrain ourselves due to social requirements or in fear of punitive repercussions. What needs to be addressed are the triggers for \u201cterror\u201d type violence and change government foreign policy (for example) that are unjust to hordes of civilians in far-away lands. However, it is impractical to imagine that these policies will be dismantled, given the enormous economic advantages that major (especially free market) countries have enjoyed for many years, at devastating cost to millions of \u201clesser\u201d people.<\/i>\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

I wish to answer his propositions in Q&A form. <\/span><\/p>\n

Question:<\/b> Has violence been always present in human history? <\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b> No. There have been peaceful periods in human history including in Sri Lanka. The period of Parakramabahu VI (1410-1467) was one. These periods can be relative, nevertheless significant. The human history has produced the term Pax Romana<\/i>. Similarly, one can talk about Pax Sinica<\/i>. The period of Ming dynasty opened up peace in China. Of course, violence has so far been more prevalent than peace. This is the challenge of civilization. It is unfortunate if we (LP included) emphasize the negative than the positive. Steven Pinker (The Angles of Our Nature: The Decline of Violence and Its Causes, <\/i>2011) shows the decline of violence today including in Sri Lanka. I am not saying he is completely correct. But the attempt should be to sustain the situation without being critical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Question<\/b>: Is violence an inherent feature of the human mind? <\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/b> Again no. In 1986, UNESCO convened 20 experts\/scientists to deliberate on the matter. They came up with what is called the Seville Statement on Violence. UNESCO General Assembly later adopted it as a resolution. There were five core conclusions as follows. <\/span><\/p>\n