War and Human Evolutionary Behavior.
Abstract
The author offers the thesis that war is caused by a predisposition of human societies to exploitive power, that is the outcome of an evolutionary error. The thesis is then supported by a detailed review of academic theories on the cause of war; which are found wanting due to incompleteness. The other elements of the proposed thesis are then examined in turn; the evolutionary behavior of man, the evolutionary error, and exploitive power. The foundations of man's evolutionary behavior are discussed, with the conclusion that man's brain has evolved as three incompletely synchronized systems; drastically increasing in power while simultaneously experiencing shortfalls in control. The results of this evolutionary error are then analyzed in terms of man's predisposition for exploitive power. The author concludes with a recommendation for further study and possible applications of lessons learned.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA177909
Entities
People
- John W. Stone Jr
Organizations
- Air War College