Lesson plan
Aggressionism
Aggressionism is a philosophical theory that the only real cause of war is human aggression, which refers to the "general tendency to attack members of one's species." It is argued that aggression is a natural response to defend vital interests such as territory, family, or identity if threatened. This theory has dominated much evolutionary thought about human nature. Many evolutionary biologists discount aggressionism as it promotes human extinction through war. The idea is that if homicide were the norm, the human species would have wiped itself out millions of years ago. There is also the claim that aggression is not a universal instinct in the animal kingdom. However, some sources note that aggression serves the animal kingdom well since it brings the balanced distribution of animals of the same species over the available environment and that it can be viewed as a universal, externally directed drive that is possibly connected to a survival instinct.
Article summary
Aggressionism is a philosophical theory that the only real cause of war is human aggression, which refers to the "general tendency to attack members of one's species." It is argued that aggression is a natural response to defend vital interests such as territory, family, or identity if threatened. This theory has dominated much evolutionary thought about human nature. Many evolutionary biologists discount aggressionism as it promotes human extinction through war. The idea is that if homicide were the norm, the human species would have wiped itself out millions of years ago. There is also the claim that aggression is not a universal instinct in the animal kingdom. However, some sources note that aggression serves the animal kingdom well since it brings the balanced distribution of animals of the same species over the available environment and that it can be viewed as a universal, externally directed drive that is possibly connected to a survival instinct.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.