Violence and Evolutionary Psychology

p>Violence has two types of causes: proximate, andfriends. In doing this, they remove the opportunity
ultimate. Proximate causes are those such as socialfor their mate to make new social connections, and
status, financial status, family values, religion, etc., etc.thus have access to more potential mates. This tactic
The ultimate cause is evolutionary psychology.also works to prevent the woman from receiving
Violence is so prevalent, that its frequency negatesinformation (such as encouragement or flirting) that
the idea that it is merely an anomaly.would indicate that they are, in fact, of high value -
The vast field of material available on evolutionarythereby increasing the likelihood of them leaving the
psychology suggests that psychological and physicalabuser.
abuse have come into being as evolutionary stablesEvolutionary psychologist David M. Buss states in his
strategies - designed to hold on to long-term love.book "The Murderer Next Door" that:
Men's violence against women in relationships is"Abuse, intense mate guarding, and sequestering all
usually attributed to proximate causes and sociologicalserve the diabolical function of tethering women to
data such as cultural memes, patriarchal societies,damaging relationships."
pathology and psychosis, etc.To support social programs for reforming behaviour is
These explanations are incorrect, because they fail togood, but it is tantamount to filling a bucket with a
take into account the fact that in the larger,leak in it, and the water is emptying faster than you
evolutionary picture - men are actually in competitioncan fill the bucket. To solve the problem of violence,
with other men for reproductive access. To bewe must attack the root of the problem - violence
united in an affront to all women, they would haveas an evolutionary adaptation. How? There is new
to work in tandem, and this just doesn't fit with thepromising study in the field of epigenetics to suggest
notion of being in competition with each other.a not-too-distant solution of gene-alteration. There
Men's abuse towards women in relationships typicallyare ethical questions that need to be wrestled with,
damages the woman's self-esteem. When herbut imagine the possibilities!!! I make my living teaching
self-esteem is damaged, she feels less desirable, andpeople self-defense skills to protect themselves from
is therefore led to feel "lucky" that she has the manviolence, but I certainly look forward to a future
she's with.where these skills are needed less than they are
Male perpetrators of abuse also typically limit, if nottoday.
remove entirely, social ties to their mate's family and