ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON VIOLENCE: UNIVERSALS AND PARTICULARS |
| |
Authors: | Paul Heelas |
| |
Institution: | Paul Heelas is lecturer in social anthropology, department of religious studies, University of Lancaster, Lancaster LA1 4YG, England. |
| |
Abstract: | Abstract. The problem addressed is how to establish the nature (grounds and consequences) of culturally formulated aggressive displays, for example, Balinese cockfights. Psychological and other research suggests that aggression can be under the control of nature, culture, or both. After surveying the evidence supporting both endogenous, in particular cathartic, and exogenous processes, the paper explores what is involved in establishing which process is operative in particular ethnographic cases. Special attention is paid to institutions which show coadaptation between biological and culture-dependent processes and regulations. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|