Why We Fight
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-21 09:50:59
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mike Martin
- ISBN：1787384896
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Summary
Why are we willing to die for our countries？ How can ideology persuade someone to blow themselves up？
When we go to war， morality， religion and ideology often take the blame。 But Mike Martin boldly argues that the opposite is true: rather than driving violence， these things help to reduce it。 While we resort to ideas and values to justify or interpret warfare， something else is really propelling us towards conflict: our subconscious desires， shaped by millions of years of evolution。
Why We Fight will change the way we think about both violence and ourselves。
When we go to war， morality， religion and ideology often take the blame。 But Mike Martin boldly argues that the opposite is true: rather than driving violence， these things help to reduce it。 While we resort to ideas and values to justify or interpret warfare， something else is really propelling us towards conflict: our subconscious desires， shaped by millions of years of evolution。
Why We Fight will change the way we think about both violence and ourselves。
Reviews
Laurence Copeland
，
An interesting and thought-provoking view on wars and what cause them。 Its starting point is that the things that allow us to be successful in evolutionary terms （i。e to reproduce） can only be provided by social groupings of some kind， which in turn can only offer the security （and in particular the freedom from violence） that we need in order to breed and bring up children if they are able to command loyalty from their membership。 That loyalty is demonstrated by members being willing to lay dow An interesting and thought-provoking view on wars and what cause them。 Its starting point is that the things that allow us to be successful in evolutionary terms （i。e to reproduce） can only be provided by social groupings of some kind， which in turn can only offer the security （and in particular the freedom from violence） that we need in order to breed and bring up children if they are able to command loyalty from their membership。 That loyalty is demonstrated by members being willing to lay down their lives for the society when it comes into conflict with other societies。 At the same time， for Hobbesian reasons， the society needs a high-status leader to maintain order， and he/she accrues status by leadership in war with other societies。 From this perspective， larger groupings have less need to test themselves in war （and fewer potential enemies）。 Equally， the more people are swept into a single entity， the less scope there is for individual interpersonal violence， so from this perspective， the rise of the nation-state was a welcome progression towards a more peaceful world。 Likewise， supranational communities like the EU， UN etc or quasi-communities like those based on global religions are to be welcomed。All of this may sound very surprising， but it does seem to a gret extent to be consistent with the line taken for example by Pinker in "Better Angels。。。。"。 But it also raises an awful lot of questions。 。。。more
Thomas Wood
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more of an academic essay in style and pretty hard going in the first chapters as I accustomed myself to the terminology used but worth the effort。A thought provoking discussion of the basic desires and cognitive neuroscience behind civilisation， similar in scope to Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind。definitely not what I was expecting from the title！ more of an academic essay in style and pretty hard going in the first chapters as I accustomed myself to the terminology used but worth the effort。A thought provoking discussion of the basic desires and cognitive neuroscience behind civilisation， similar in scope to Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind。definitely not what I was expecting from the title！ 。。。more
Jacob Georg Naur
，
I can't believe no one is apparently reading this。 This should have been a bestseller。 If you are dealing with humans in any circumstance ever， you must read this book。 Clearly written with no BS the book brings together recent progress in the field of evolutionary biology/psychology， discoveries in brain development and genetics。 That said， Martin ends telling us the reason for islamic terrorism is - basically - racism。 More in line with his own findings， you could argue， that islam and the mus I can't believe no one is apparently reading this。 This should have been a bestseller。 If you are dealing with humans in any circumstance ever， you must read this book。 Clearly written with no BS the book brings together recent progress in the field of evolutionary biology/psychology， discoveries in brain development and genetics。 That said， Martin ends telling us the reason for islamic terrorism is - basically - racism。 More in line with his own findings， you could argue， that islam and the muslim culture have not solved the 5 problems of any group causing internal unrest and external attacks。 These are the reasons given for all other conflicts described in the book。 For some reason Martin refuses his own brilliant logic when it comes to muslims。 Mr。 Martin: The muslims hated us before they came here and they are all obliged to persecute non-muslims。 You blithering idiot。 So the Christian communities in Egypt should be more inclusive？ Is that it？On page 223 Mr。 Martin turns full Stalin declaring the objective to be less inequality and more respect through enabling "structures"。 Do tell。 What "structures" is to make me have an oxytocin party in my brain， when thinking of female genitalia mutilation？Good book - such a shame the writer did not read it。 。。。more
Lorna
，
Interesting， although it was more scientific/psychological than I would maybe have liked - a lot on evolutionary psychology etc。 Would maybe have like to have seen the theories put forward evidenced in actual conflicts 。。 for example。 Has given me some food for thought though。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Why We Fight
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Why We Fight&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Why We Fight&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0