Violence
|
|
Violence is a general term to describe actions, usually deliberate, that cause or intend to cause injury to people, animals, or non-living objects. Violence is often associated with aggression. There are essentially two kinds of violence: random violence, which describes small-scale acts of random or targeted violence, and coordinated violence, which describes actions carried out by sanctioned or unsanctioned violent groups, such as war and terrorism.
| Contents |
Law
One of the main functions of law is to regulate violence (indeed, some have said that the state is a monopyly ov violence).
Certain forms and degrees of violence are socially and/or legally sanctioned, while others constitute crimes within a specific society. Different societies apply different standards relating to sanctioned and non-sanctioned forms of violence. Degrees of violence that are not accepted by a society's norms are commonly regarded as cruel, and may be termed extra-normal violence. Violence used in terrorism is often extra-normal in terms of degree.
Violence can be unilateral, while fighting implies a reaction, at least a defensive one.
Here are some forms of violence condemned by law :
- Abuse
- Aggravated assault
- Assault
- Assault and battery
- Battery
- Cruelty to animals
- Domestic violence
- Murder
- Property damage
- Rape
Psychology and sociology
The causes of violent behaviour is often a research topic in psychology and sociology. Violence is often, but not always, a deviant behaviour.
The psychologist James W. Prescott performed a study about the cause of violence in the anthropological sense, which he mainly attaches to lack of mother-child bonding. He links repression of sexuality and punishment of children as a cause of violent societies.
See also :
Violence in the media
A highly debated topic is the influence of violent content in popular media such as television and video games.
Violence makes many appearances in these, much to the displeasure of parents and politicans. Violence in these medias has led to censorship in extreme cases, and regulation in others, one case being the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board in 1994.
Violent content has been a central part of video game controversy, critics like Dave Grossman arguing that violence in games (some of which whom he calls"murder simulators") hardens children to unethical acts.
See also
- Atrocity
- Consensual violence
- Hooliganism
- Injury
- Mutilation and genital mutilation
- Non-violence
- Religious violence
- School violence
- Sectarian violence
- Violence in sports | NHL violence
External links
- Information on James W. Prescott's work (http://www.violence.de)
- 1986 Seville Statement on Violence (http://www.unesco.org/shs/human_rights/hrfv.htm)
- Introduction and Updated Information on the Seville Statement on Violence (http://www.culture-of-peace.info/ssov-intro.html)de:Gewalt
es:Violencia fr:Violence he:אלימות nl:Geweld ja:暴力 no:Vold pt:Violncia zh:暴力