The Historical Study of Violence

Name: The Historical Study of Violence
Start: 2017-05-28T15:00:00-04:00
End: 2017-05-28T17:00:00-04:00
Location: Good Karma Cafe

Hosted By

Brian B.

Details

I've decided to host our discussion at the Good Karma Café again. It's near the corner of 10th & Pine in Washington Square West neighborhood, and it's fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Broad Street Line & get off at the Lombard South Station, and walk 2 blocks east on Lombard and then turn left on 10th street and it's up a half block. With PATCO, just get off at 10th & Locust stop and walk 2 blocks south. For those who are driving, parking in the neighborhood can be tough to find. I'd suggest parking in the parking deck connected to the ACME at 10th & South. If you buy at least $10 worth of groceries from ACME, they'll validate your parking so it's free.

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THE HISTORICAL STUDY OF HUMAN VIOLENCE

This is the second meetup in our study of human violence. The prior one, on Sunday, May 21st, covered evolutionary & anthropological perspectives on the origins of human violence. This meetup will cover the study of human violence as a historical phenomenon and we'll discuss the work of researchers who look for patterns behind the long-term decline in violence over the last 200 years, the US crime rate drop in the 1990s, and theories about cyclical patterns in social conflict & violence that can be predicted.

I've listed some material below that I'd like our members to check out prior to our discussion. If you're pressed for time, you can just watch the videos (they come to about 31 minutes total) and skip the articles. As you can see, I've listed some notes under the articles that summarize their major points.

HAS THE RISE OF THE NATION-STATE, INDUSTRIALIZATION, GLOBAL COMMERCE & THE SPREAD OF ENLIGHTENMENT VALUES LED TO A WORLDWIDE DECLINE IN VIOLENCE? HOW SHOULD WE WEIGH THE COSTS OF THE INTERMITTENT WARFARE OF PREMODERN SOCIETIES AGAINST THE PROSPECT OF NUCLEAR OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AMONG MODERN NATIONS?

Steven Pinker, "The Surprising Decline in Violence" (19:15 min.)
https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence
Mark Buchanan, "Violent warfare is on the wane, right?" (short article)
https://medium.com/bull-market/violent-warfare-is-on-the-wane-right-99223faa45e6

WHAT CAUSED THE CRIME RATE DECLINE IN THE 1990s: LEGAL ABORTION, REDUCED LEAD EXPOSURE, MASS INCARCERTATION, BROKEN WINDOWS POLICING, IMPROVED ECONOMY? HOW DO WE SEPARATE MERE CORRELATION FROM CAUSATION?

Dena Takruri, "Why Has Crime Dropped Since The '90s?" (3:31 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHT5XGalM3o

Stephen Fry, "Does lead poisoning cause crime? Does legal abortion reduce crime?" (4:11 min.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqHElNV3jxY

"Fooled again! Pinker puts a nail in the coffin of the Freakonomics crime theory?" (short excerpt from Steven Pinker's book, The Better Angels Of Our Nature)
https://uncertaintyblog.com/2013/08/15/fooled-again-pinker-puts-a-nail-in-the-coffin-of-the-freakonomics-crime-theory/
Kevin Drum, "Lead and Crime: A Response to Jim Manzi" (short article, responding to Manzi's critique of Drum's article on Jessica Reyes' research)

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/01/lead-and-crime-response-jim-manzi

CAN "CLIOMETRICS" & "HUMAN AND NATURE DYNAMICS" PREDICT CYCLES IN SOCIAL CONFLICT & CIVILIZATIONAL COLLAPSE OR IS IT JUST POST-HOC THEORIZING? HOW DO THEY TIE INCOME INEQUALITY TO POLITICAL TURMOIL?