You're reading:

Violence: A view from anthropology

- By Douglas P. Fry Anthropology, the study of humankind, offers an important set of perspectives on human violence and peace. The discipline looks across cultures—it is culturally comparative..

Violence: A view from anthropology

 

By Douglas P. Fry

 

Anthropology, the study of humankind, offers an important set of perspectives on human violence and peace. The discipline looks across cultures—it is culturally comparative. At the same time, it focuses on particular cultural lifeways, symbols, and meanings within given societies and reveals the major importance of the social environment in influencing how violence is expressed. Via archaeology, anthropology also views humankind across time. The discipline approaches humanness from biological and social angles. It attempts to understand human behaviors, such as capacities for violence and compassion, with an epigenetic balance of biological and social influences. This approach can include a cross-species comparative focus. What are some of the most important insights about human violence that anthropology has to offer?

Please sign up to see more of our content