Evolutionary Psychology and Violence A Primer for Policymakers and Public Policy Advocates

Subjects:

• Political Science » Public Policy
• Psychology » Psychology (General)

Reviews:

• The audience for the book ranges from psychologists to political scientists and sociologists....Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
  —Choice November 2003
• [I]nformative and often very well written ...
  —Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 2004
• [R]eading this book might be hazardous to your equanimity. As you study the exceptionally well-written and well thought out chapters you may question some of your own basic ethical, moral and philosophical tenets and consequently experience increasing levels of anxiety and depression. Nevertheless, I hope a lot of you read the book, including public policymakers--those who are literate of course. It contains not only penetrting analyses of the root causes of the violence that is threatening to destroy our civilization, but also some promising violence-reduction strategies....I recommend you go directly to your bookstore or library and get a copy. If you belong to a book club, bring it to their attention. If you know any public policymakers, send them a copy. Time is getting short, so hurry!
  —Metapsychology Oct 6, 2004

• Endorsement From David P. Barash
  University of Washington
  author of Understanding Violence: An evolutionary perspective on human violence is both new and important . . . and fortunately, it seems to be reaching the breakthrough stage, thanks in part to this impressive volume. The problem of violence is simply too large to be left to the same tired, outmoded ways of thinking that have so long prevailed in the social sciences; the editors and contributors to Evolutionary Psychology and Violence should be congratulated for a difficult task, beautifully accomplished.
• Endorsement From Owen D. Jones
  Arizona State University: Ranging from rapists and psychopaths to judges and juries, from morality and murder to retribution and reconciliation, and from incarceration and integration to the politics of punishment, this is a book for anyone interested in or touched by violence. It is one of those rare books that can change the way you perceive and analyze. It is interdisciplinary in the best sense of the word, and offers the most up-to-date look yet at the multiple origins of violence.
  Nowhere is there a more integrative set of studies. The book breaks new ground, demonstrating precisely why effective peacemaking polices require competent understanding of evolutionary processes.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Joseph Graves Jr.
• Preface by Richard W. Bloom and Nancy K. Dess
• The Evolution of Scientific Psychology and Public Policy: On Violence and Its Antidotes by Richard W. Bloom
• The Social Implications of Evolutionary Psychology: Linking Brain Biochemistry, Toxins, and Violent Crime by Roger D. Masters
• Psychopathy as an Adaptation: Implications for Society and Social Policy by Stuart Kinner
• Combating Rape: Views of an Evolutionary Psychologist by Linda Mealey
• Mate Homicide: TBA by David Buss
• Fear and Death and Social Behavior: The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski
• An Evolutionary Perspective on Intercultural Conflict: Basic Mechanisms and Implications for Immigration Policy by Harold D. Fishbein and Nancy K. Dess
• Global Conflict Resolution: An Anthropological Diagnosis of Problems with World Governance by Christopher Boehm
• Violence and Its Antidotes: Promises and Pitfalls of Evolutionarily Aware Policy Development by Nancy K. Dess
• Index