The Anthropology of Peace and Nonviolence

Diogenes 61 (3-4):30-45 (2014)
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Abstract

The pioneering ideas of Glenn D. Paige for a paradigm shift from killing to nonkilling are highlighted. The relevance of anthropology for this paradigm is advanced. The accumulating scientific evidence proves that nonviolent and peaceful societies not only exist, but are actually the norm throughout human prehistory and history. This scientific fact is elucidated through a historical inventory of the most important documentation. Ethnographic cases are summarized of the Semai as a nonviolent society, the transition from killing to nonkilling of the Waorani, and the critiques of the representation of the Yanomami as a killing society. Several of the most important cross-cultural studies are discussed. The assertions of some of the most vocal opponents to this paradigm are refuted. The systemic cultural and ideological bias privileging violence and war over nonviolence and peace is documented.

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Citations of this work

The origins of war. [REVIEW]Keith F. Otterbein - 1997 - Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society 11 (2):251-277.

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References found in this work

On Aggression.Konrad Lorenz, Robert Ardrey, Desmond Morris & Lionel Tiger - 1971 - Science and Society 35 (2):209-219.
Life histories, blood revenge, and warfare in a tribal population. S. 87-99 in L. Betzig.N. Chagnon - forthcoming - Human Nature. A Critical Reader. Newyork/Oxford: Oxford University Press (Zuerst in Science 239: 985-92 (1988)).
On Aggression.Konrad Lorenz - 2002 - Routledge.
Constant battles: the myth of the peaceful, noble savage.Steven A. LeBlanc - 2003 - New York: St. Martin's Press. Edited by Katherine E. Register.

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