Non-violence: An imperative for a flourishing collective life

Editorial

Non-violence: An imperative for a flourishing collective life     

Non-violence as a Shifting Signifier on the Tibetan Plateau

In nomadic areas, Tibetans are wearing a new amulet, called an ‘amulet for peace’, depicting a globe with a dove flying above it. The dove carries a bodhi leaf in its mouth and a gold peace sign in its claws, combining Buddhist and global symbols for peace. However, the amulet is not being marshalled for Gandhian-style non-violent resistance nor world peace for that matter, but rather for something more local. This local cause is a campaign to end fighting over the grasslands, a sustained social problem in nomadic areas of eastern Tibet. The amulet for peace is a recent innovation, launched in 2012 as part of an ethical reform movement spearheaded by Larung Buddhist Academy, the largest monastic institution on the Tibetan plateau. This article discusses the latest developments in this emerging movement and, specifically, the significance of the amulet for peace and the discourses in which it is embedded.     

Men and Violence

The authors explore violence in men from cultural, historical, social, and individual perspectives. The many ways in which violence is expressed by men are examined. The remediation of violent behavior through counseling is studied, and a model for understanding that process is indicated. Resources, both organizational and bibliographical, are furnished. Violence … is as American as cherry pie. H. Rap Brown We've got to stop it, it's you and me, oh violence never did make a man. Geof Morgan     

Caring and Violence

I reply to Laura Duhan Kaplan that I do not suggest women's political choices concerning pacifism are determined by biology. Although I contend the practice of mothering does not imply a pacifist commitment, this does not imply that the practice of mothering is inconsistent with such a commitment. Further, because the practice of mothering is not limited to women, even if it is inconsistent with pacifist commitment, this does not limit choices based on biology.     

Heat and Violence

The heat hypothesis states that hot temperatures can increase aggressive motives and behaviors. Although alternative explanations occasionally account for some portion of the observed increases in aggression when temperatures are high, none are sufficient to account for most such heat effects. Hot temperatures increase aggression by directly increasing feelings of hostility and indirectly increasing aggressive thoughts. Results show that global warming trends may well increase violent-crime rates. Better climate controls in many institutional settings (e.g., prisons, schools, the workplace) may reduce aggression-related problems in those settings.     

Violence and Reactions

This article has two parts. On the one hand, it summarizes a lot of the work I have done over the last 10 years. The summary starts with three phenomenological insights: into temporalization, into intersubjectivity, and into foundations. It ends with a discussion of ethics based on Kant and Bergson. On the other hand, the article presents my responses to three commentators on my work: Emilia Angelova, Edward S. Casey, and Samir Haddad. All three raise important questions about my work. All three bring me back to the main point of my work: strategies for letting others be free. Thus, to use a phrase that probably seems out of date, this article could have been called “strategies of deconstruction.”     

Violence and Selfhood

Is violence senseless or is it at the origin of sense? Does its destruction of meaning disclose ourselves as the origin of meaning? Or is it the case that it leaves in its wake only a barren field? Does it result in renewal or only in a sense of dead loss? To answer these questions, I shall look at James Dodd’s, Hegel’s, and Carl Schmitt’s accounts of the creative power of violence—particularly with regard to its ability to give individuals and groups their sense of self-identity. I shall also follow up on Peg Birmingham’s suggestion that Socrates’ defense at his trial points to an alternate source of our self-identity—one that is ultimately less barren.     

Parental Loss and Family Violence as Correlates of Suicide and Violence Risk

Seventy-nine psychiatric inpatients were administered a battery of psychometric instruments that obtained information about early parental loss, exposure to family violence, and behavioral problems in themselves and in their first-degree relatives. These variables were correlated with suicide and violence risk measures. Suicide risk significantly correlated with all family variables whereas violence risk correlated with behavioral problems both in oneself and in one's first-degree relatives. Moreover, suicidal and/or violent patients had experienced maternal loss significantly more frequently than the nonsuicidal/nonviolent patients. In the suicidal/violent group, age of patient at death of parents was significantly lower than in the nonsuicidal/nonviolent group. Finally, family violence was significantly correlated with behavioral problems in self and in first-degree relatives. Findings are interpreted according to the authors' theoretical model of aggression regulation.     

Violence and prospect-refuge values

Appleton's prospect-refuge theory of landscape aesthetics is joined to Kupfer's treatment of the more contemporary forms of violence as aesthetic projects. The insufficiency in the modern urban environment of good opportunities to see without being seen stresses the present and near future into heightened feelings of vulnerability, adding with untoward social circumstance to activate more extreme measures to secure an advantage in our dealings with the world. From the standpoint of prospect-refuge theory, violence directed to asserting the self as someone who matters is a misbegotten effort to unstress the present and near future. Violence valued only for the aesthetic satisfaction in dismembering persons and things to formlessness suggests an attempt to kill time. As the likelihood of violent incidents increases, revisions in the prospect-refuge map together with institutional reforms become more urgent.     

Shame and Violence:

No abstract available for this article.     

Domestic Violence

Summary

In this paper, the authors outline their experience in incorporating a curriculum on domestic violence into an urban family practice residency program. Based on the concept that in order to successfully develop such a curriculum, it is necessary to address the “culture of the organization,” joint educational strategies that in-elude resident education as well as faculty development were considered. A research question was designed to inquire as to the difference in the level of knowledge about domestic violence in family practice faculty as compared to residents prior to the introduction of educational strategies. The authors describe curriculum goals and objectives and outline specific teaching methods as well as the evaluation instrument utilized in the study to measure actual difference in knowledge between faculty and residents about domestic violence with a focus specifically on spousal abuse. Their conclusions point to the need for an educational strategy that includes emphasis on the faculty-resident interface which utilizes both traditional and non-traditional integrated formats in order to successfully train residents in the identification and treatment of domestic violence.     

The Relationship Between Self-Control,Witnessing Domestic Violence,and Subsequent Violence

The notion that violence begets violence is well accepted. Less clear are the precise factors that link together child violence and adult violence in an individual's life course. This study examines the role that self-control has in linking together exposure to violence in a child's life and subsequent violence in that individual's life. A telephone survey with 375 residents in Southeastern Virginia was conducted. Attention is given to whether those who saw their parents fight are more likely to (1) have a low self-control and (2) report having experienced violence either as an offender or a victim. Results suggest that witnessing violence is not related to self-control, and those who witnessed violence were less likely to have subsequent experiences with partner abuse. Further, we found that low self-control has a link with partner abuse. Implications for theory, policy, and future research are provided.