Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Edited by I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave. Pp. viii, 282. £3·50, paperback £1. 1970. (Cambridge University Press.)

Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

ION, GENERAL CONCEPTIONS, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, MENTAL INDIVIDUALITY. It would be very difficult for any one with even much more knowledge than I possess, to determine how far animals exhibit any traces of these high mental powers. This difficulty arises from the impossibility of judging what passes through the mind of an animal; and again, the fact that writers differ to a great extent in the meaning which they attribute to the above terms, causes a further difficulty. If one may judge from various articles which have been published lately, the greatest stress seems to be laid on the supposed entire absence in animals of the power of abstraction, or of forming general concepts. But when a dog sees another dog at a distance, it is often clear that he perceives that it is a dog in the abstract; for when he gets nearer his whole manner suddenly changes, if the other dog be a friend. A recent writer remarks, that in all such cases it is a pure assumption to assert that the mental act is not essentially of the same nature in the animal as in man. If either refers what he perceives with his senses to a mental concept, then so do both. (44. Mr. Hookham, in a letter to Prof. Max Muller, in the 'Birmingham News,' May, 1873.) When I say to my terrier, in an eager voice (and I have made the trial many times), "Hi, hi, where is it?" she at once takes it as a sign that something is to be hunted, and generally first looks quickly all around, and then rushes into the nearest thicket, to scent for any game, but finding nothing, she looks up into any neighbouring tree for a squirrel. Now do not these actions clearly shew that she had in her mind a general idea or concept that some animal is to be discovered and hunted? It may be freely admitted that no animal is self-conscious, if by this term it is implied, that he reflects on such points, as whence he comes or whither he will go, or what is life and death, and so forth. But how can we feel sure that an old dog with an excellent memory and some power of imagination, as shewn by his dreams, never reflects on his past pleasures or pains in the chase? And this would be a form of self-consciousness. On the other hand, as Buchner (45. 'Conferences sur la Theorie Darwinienne,' French translat. 1869, p. 132.) has remarked, how little can the hardworked wife of a degraded Australian savage, who uses very few abstract words, and cannot count above four, exert her self-consciousness, or reflect on the nature of her own existence. It is generally admitted, that the higher animals possess memory, attention, association, and even some imagination and reason. If these powers, which differ much in different animals, are capable of improvement, there seems no great improbability in more complex faculties, such as the higher forms of abstraction, and selfconsciousness, etc., having been evolved through the development and combination of the simpler ones. It has been urged against the views here maintained that it is impossible to say at what point in the ascending scale animals become capable of abstraction, etc.; but who can say at what age this occurs in our young children? We see at least that such powers

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase1887/22/257/22_257_458/_pdf

The descent of man and selection in relation to sex

How the mind works

The covert NBC threat in historical perspective NBC acquisition and covert delivery - technical possibilities and technical constraints the threat of nuclear, biological or chemical attack by non-state actors the threat of nuclear, biological or chemical attack by states recommendations - an agenda for the American government.

America's Achilles' Heel: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Terrorism and Covert Attack

Pathbreaking and controversial, Darwin and International Relations offers the first comprehensive analysis of international affairs of state through the lens of evolutionary theory. Bradley A. Thayer provides a new method for investigating and explaining human and state behavior while generating insights into the origins of human and animal warfare, ethnic conflict, and the influence of disease on international relations. Using ethnological and statistical studies of warfare among tribal societies, Thayer argues that humans wage war for reasons predicted by evolutionary theory -- to gain and protect vital resources but also for the physically and emotionally stimulating effects of combat. Thayer demonstrates that an evolutionary understanding of disease will become a more important part of the study of international relations as new strains of diseases emerge and advances in genetics make biological warfare a more effective weapon for states and terrorists. He also explains the deep causes of ethnic conflict by illuminating how xenophobia and ethnocentrism evolved in humans. He notes that these behaviors once contributed to our ancestors' success in radically different environments, but they remain a part of us. Darwin and International Relations makes a major contribution to our understanding of human history and the future of international relations.

Darwin and International Relations: On the Evolutionary Origins of War and Ethnic Conflict

Efforts to develop a foundation for scientiac knowledge that would unite the natural and social sciences date to the classical Greeks. Given recent advances in genetics and evolutionary theory, this goal may be closer than ever.1 The human genome project has generated much media attention as scientists reveal genetic causes of diseases and some aspects of human behavior. And although advances in evolutionary theory may have received less attention, they are no less signiacant. Edward O. Wilson, Roger Masters, and Albert Somit, among others, have led the way in using evolutionary theory and social science to produce a synthesis for understanding human behavior and social phenomena.2 This synthesis posits that human behavior is simultaneously and inextricably a result of evolutionary and environmental causes. The social sciences, including the study of international politics, may build upon this scholarship.3 In this article I argue that evolutionary theory can improve the realist theory of international politics. Traditional realist arguments rest principally on one of two discrete ultimate causes, or intellectual foundations. The arst is Reinhold Niebuhr’s argument that humans are evil. The second is grounded in the work

Bringing in Darwin: Evolutionary Theory, Realism, and International Politics

Many scholars and policymakers have focused their attention on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Extension and Review Conference which was held in New York City in April and May, 1995.1 Most of the debate about the NPT review conference centred on two questions. First, will the NPT be extended in perpetuity, as the United States and the other nuclear weapon states (NWS) want, or will it be renewed for a fixed period, or periods, of time, as many non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) desire.2 Second, what is the price that the US will have to pay for the renewal, either in perpetuity or for a fixed time, of the Treaty. There was concern that the price would include consenting to a complete ban on nuclear testing, which might be codified in a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT);3 agreeing to a complete cut-off of the production of fissile materials; or making further reductions in the strategic nuclear arsenal of the United States. In addition, there was apprehension that the United States would face demands from many of the NNWS to pressure Israel to surrender its nuclear capability, at a maximum, or at least to require Israel to cap its production of fissile material.4 The result of the Extension and Review Conference was what the US wanted: the NPT was extended in perpetuity.5

The Causes of Nuclear Proliferation and the Utility of the Non-proliferation Regime

Theoretical insights from evolutionary psychology and biology can help academics and policymakers better understand both deep and proximate causes of Islamic suicide terrorism. The life sciences can contribute explanations that probe the influence of the following forces on the phenomenon of Islamic suicide terrorism: high levels of gender differentiation, the prevalence of polygyny, and the obstruction of marriage markets delaying marriage for young adult men in the modern Middle East. The influence of these forces has been left virtually unexplored in the social sciences, despite their presumptive application in this case. Life science explanations should be integrated with more conventional social science explanations, which include international anarchy, U.S. hegemony and presence in the Middle East, and culturally molded discourse sanctioning suicide terrorism in the Islamic context. Such a consilient approach, melding the explanatory power of the social and life sciences, offers greater insight into the causal context of Islamic fundamentalist suicide terrorism, the motivation of suicide terrorists, and effective approaches to subvert this form of terrorism.

/pdf/sex-and-the-shaheed-insights-from-the-life-sciences-on-2gsefi3gop.pdf

Bradley A. Thayer

Papers

America's Achilles' Heel: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Terrorism and Covert Attack

Darwin and International Relations: On the Evolutionary Origins of War and Ethnic Conflict

Bringing in Darwin: Evolutionary Theory, Realism, and International Politics

The Causes of Nuclear Proliferation and the Utility of the Non-proliferation Regime

Sex and the Shaheed: Insights from the Life Sciences on Islamic Suicide Terrorism