"PS, when I was bored as a kid, I read the dictionary. And a thesaurus. That might explain why some people find my posts to be very direct. There's no "fluff" (as my fiancee calls it) in a dictionary. There ain't much fluff in my posts either. But I assure you, they're rarely aggressive. This one certainly is not."
you didn't read any encyclopedias? only a dictionary and a thesaurus? just kidding with you JB. I think it's great that you were such in inquisitive kid.. probably stayed out of trouble then?
I felt I didn't give you a fair response so I took the time to try to do this better.
I am enjoying the research by the way. AND I learned how to do the smiley faces!
I'm sure you could find many references that support your theroy as well (in fact, the last one I cite below includes a satement that totally supports you).
from the website I initially referred to in my previous post..
"aggression
[əgresh′ən]
Etymology: L, aggressio, to attack
a forceful behavior, action, or attitude that is expressed physically, verbally, or symbolically. It may arise from innate drives or occur as a defense mechanism [
], often resulting from a threatened ego." (a threatened EGO?? hey, let-go of my ego..!)
and..
"fear-induced aggression
accompanied by fear [
] and usually when escape is not possible; may be associated with previous unpleasant experiences."
and from this link:
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Aggression (psychology)
"aggression, a form of behavior characterized by physical or verbal attack. It may appear either appropriate and self-protective, [] even constructive, as in healthy self-assertiveness, or inappropriate and destructive."
and..
"Aggression in humans ranges through fear-induced aggression [], parental disciplinary aggression, maternal aggression, and sexual aggression. One clearly biologically adaptive type, defensive aggression [], occurs when fight responses are mobilized in defense of an organism's vital interests, such as obtaining food or the protection of its young. The aim of defensive aggression is not destruction but the preservation of life []. Thus, aggression can serve both destructive and constructive purposes. Among animals, the varieties of aggression include most of the human types as well as predatory aggression, territorial defense, and sexually related aggression in competition for a mate."
another link:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Theories-of-Aggression
I found these two quotes:
1) "There are two types of aggression, and they are;
•Hostile/hot aggression: Is to do something aggressive and get some sort of satisfaction from it. Perhaps, planning someone's murder or robbing a bank. You get some sort of emotional reward from it.
•Instrumental/cold aggression: Is basically to do act in an aggressive way to preserve some kind of environmental reward out of it, such as; fighting for survival in a war." (I read "fighting for survival" as about the same as defending yourlself)
2) "Eventually, the last theory [Instinctive-Aggression Theory] is known to be instinctive, and innate, and part of our genes. For example, you have two male mammals fighting for one female, and the best gets the female mammal. In terms of human beings, it's fighting for survival. You're being attacked by someone, or getting raped, it's only natural you'll fight back for your life and maintain your existence."
fighting (an aggressive behavior) for the purpose of self defense??
These last quotes comes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggression and includes a statement about predation not being associated with aggression..
it also presents an argument relating aggression to violence that seems to go along the lines of your theory JB..
I know wikipedia is not the most trustworthy of sources, but I was impressed with the information that I found here..
"Aggression vs violence
In moral theories, such as argumentation ethics and the non-aggression principle, physical aggression is distinguished from violence. Aggression is considered the initiation of violence. Often, retaliatory violence and defensive violence is not considered aggression, because it is a responsive action."
"Aggression against outsiders
The most apparent type of aggression is that seen in the interaction between a predator and its prey. An animal defending itself against a predator becomes aggressive in order to survive and to ensure the survival of its offspring. Because aggression against a much larger enemy or group of enemies would lead to the death of an animal, animals have developed a good sense of when they are outnumbered.[6] This ability to gauge the strength of other animals gives animals a “fight or flight” response to predators; depending on how strong they gauge the predator to be, animals will either become aggressive or flee.
The need to survive and the viability of cooperative behavior as a survival strategy leads to a phenomenon known as altruism. An example of an altruistic act is the alarm call that is given when a predator is approaching. While this call will inform the community of a predator’s presence, it will also inform the predator of the whereabouts of the animal that gave the alarm call. While this would appear to give the alarm caller an evolutionary disadvantage, it would facilitate the continuation of this animal’s genes because its relatives and progeny would be more able to avoid predators.[7]
According to many researchers, predation is not aggression. Cats do not hiss or arch their backs when in pursuit of a rat, and the active areas in their hypothalamuses are more similar to those that reflect hunger than those that reflect aggression."
