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Showing posts from August, 2018

The Psychology of a Possible U.S. Civil War

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" It is clearly not easy for man to give up the satisfaction of this inclination to aggression.  They do not feel comfortable without it.  The advantage which a comparatively small cultural group offers of allowing this instinct an outlet in the form of hostility against intruders is not to be despised. It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive the manifestations of their aggressiveness. " Sigmund Freud: Civilization and its Discontents . Ever find yourself angry at a brother, sister, parent or cousin? Sometimes the emotions can get you seeing red but then a while later you have put the differences aside? Yes, we tend to have far more long-term toleration of those who we are related to. And generally, even if we do have differences with a relative we would still tear into a non-relative who attacked them. Studies in anthropology and psychology show that genetics bond peop...