|
Violence is just as natural as any other human behavior that's existed since the beginning of recorded history. But I guess we have to decide what qualifies as natural. The definition of the word natural itself has a whole spectrum of different definitions in the dictionary, so I think you could make an argument either way.
I'm not a zoologist or anything, but my opinion is that there are only a few animals capable of independent thought and the expression of emotion in anything even close to a complex manner: humans, apes, and possibly whales or dolphins. (Some might also include dogs and cats, but that's kind of iffy to me.)
All other animals are driven primarily by instinct and survival... what makes these few so unique is that they have free will and are capable of overriding instinct. Their psychology is much more complex, and that's where the violence comes in. Other animals aren't capable of jealousy, greed, lust, depression, empathy, embarrassment, etc.
Violence happens as a result of this more complex psychology and what we perceive as a higher intelligence. When your actions are capable of being driven by emotion and independent thought, then violence is pretty inevitable. But the great thing is that the same free will that allows us to be violent also allows us to restrain and control ourselves.
__________________
|