Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
Catchy title that came to mind. Will quote the source of the inspiration below. But I wanted to write a bit about how physical affection demonstratably lowers negative social problems like violence.
US culture is among the most violent on Earth past or present. We've invented nuclear weapons, imprison more of our people than any other nation on Earth or in history, and continue to start wars of conquest in the Middle East while simultaneously doing pretty much everything sociological studies have proven leads to violence, while suppressing everything they've proven leads to peace. From bans on calm-inducing drugs like marijuana while allowing the one that causes aggression and violent outbursts like alcohol, to emphasizing Christian religiousity which encourages physical pleasure denial in the name of saving the soul and whose holy book is filled with calls to being violent in the name of God.
One of the biggest contributors to violence comes from how Christianity (and other religions) discourage premarital sex.
"The percent likelihood of a society being physically violent if it is physically affectionate toward its infants and tolerant of premarital sexual behavior is 2 percent (48/49). The probability of this relationship occurring by chance is 125,000 to one. I am not aware of any other developmental variable that has such a high degree of predictive validity. Thus, we seem to have a firmly based principle: Physically affectionate human societies are highly unlikely to be physically violent."
"These findings overwhelmingly support the thesis that deprivation of body pleasure throughout life—but particularly during the formative periods of infancy, childhood, and adolescence—are very closely related to the amount of warfare and interpersonal violence."
"A questionnaire I developed to explore this question was administered to 96 college students whose average age was 19 years. The results of the questionnaire support the connection between rejection of physical pleasure (and particularly of premarital and extramarital sex) with expression of physical violence. Respondents who reject abortion, responsible premarital sex, and nudity within the family were likely to approve of harsh physical punishment for children and to believe that pain helps build strong moral character. These respondents were likely to find alcohol and drugs more satisfying than sex. The data obtained from the questionnaire provide strong statistical support for the basic inverse relationship between physical violence and physical pleasure. If violence is high, pleasure is low, and conversely, if pleasure is high, violence is low. The questionnaire bears out the theory that the pleasure-violence relationship found in primitive cultures also holds true for a modern industrial nation."
"It is evident that the Judeo-Christian concept of body pleasure is quite the opposite of that outlined by Aristotle, particularly, the relief of body pain and discomfort through somatosensory pleasure. This denial of somatosensory pleasure in Pauline Christian doctrine has led to alternative forms of 'relief' through such painful stimulations as hair-shirts, self-scourgings, self-mutilations, physical violence against others, and in the non-sensory pleasures of drugs.
Experimental animal studies have documented counterparts to these phenomena. For example, animals deprived of somatosensory stimulation will engage in mutilations of their own bodies. Animals deprived of touching early in life develop impaired pain perception and an aversion to being touched by others. They are thus blocked from experiencing the body-pleasure therapy that they need for rehabilitation. In this condition, they have few alternatives but physical violence, where pain-oriented touching and body contact is facilitated by their impaired ability to experience pain. Thus, physical violence and physical pain become therapies of choice for those deprived of physical pleasure. "
all quotes from,
Article Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence
Thus where physical pleasures are lacking, violence is found. Also drug use. Children raised by physically affectionate parents with lots of huggins and touching become non-violent adults, whereas those deprived become violent. Is a table on the link about conservatism too but that's parenthetical. Search/Find for the word'll take you right to it though (it's a sizable page, and it's just the short version.)
US culture is among the most violent on Earth past or present. We've invented nuclear weapons, imprison more of our people than any other nation on Earth or in history, and continue to start wars of conquest in the Middle East while simultaneously doing pretty much everything sociological studies have proven leads to violence, while suppressing everything they've proven leads to peace. From bans on calm-inducing drugs like marijuana while allowing the one that causes aggression and violent outbursts like alcohol, to emphasizing Christian religiousity which encourages physical pleasure denial in the name of saving the soul and whose holy book is filled with calls to being violent in the name of God.
One of the biggest contributors to violence comes from how Christianity (and other religions) discourage premarital sex.
"The percent likelihood of a society being physically violent if it is physically affectionate toward its infants and tolerant of premarital sexual behavior is 2 percent (48/49). The probability of this relationship occurring by chance is 125,000 to one. I am not aware of any other developmental variable that has such a high degree of predictive validity. Thus, we seem to have a firmly based principle: Physically affectionate human societies are highly unlikely to be physically violent."
"These findings overwhelmingly support the thesis that deprivation of body pleasure throughout life—but particularly during the formative periods of infancy, childhood, and adolescence—are very closely related to the amount of warfare and interpersonal violence."
"A questionnaire I developed to explore this question was administered to 96 college students whose average age was 19 years. The results of the questionnaire support the connection between rejection of physical pleasure (and particularly of premarital and extramarital sex) with expression of physical violence. Respondents who reject abortion, responsible premarital sex, and nudity within the family were likely to approve of harsh physical punishment for children and to believe that pain helps build strong moral character. These respondents were likely to find alcohol and drugs more satisfying than sex. The data obtained from the questionnaire provide strong statistical support for the basic inverse relationship between physical violence and physical pleasure. If violence is high, pleasure is low, and conversely, if pleasure is high, violence is low. The questionnaire bears out the theory that the pleasure-violence relationship found in primitive cultures also holds true for a modern industrial nation."
"It is evident that the Judeo-Christian concept of body pleasure is quite the opposite of that outlined by Aristotle, particularly, the relief of body pain and discomfort through somatosensory pleasure. This denial of somatosensory pleasure in Pauline Christian doctrine has led to alternative forms of 'relief' through such painful stimulations as hair-shirts, self-scourgings, self-mutilations, physical violence against others, and in the non-sensory pleasures of drugs.
Experimental animal studies have documented counterparts to these phenomena. For example, animals deprived of somatosensory stimulation will engage in mutilations of their own bodies. Animals deprived of touching early in life develop impaired pain perception and an aversion to being touched by others. They are thus blocked from experiencing the body-pleasure therapy that they need for rehabilitation. In this condition, they have few alternatives but physical violence, where pain-oriented touching and body contact is facilitated by their impaired ability to experience pain. Thus, physical violence and physical pain become therapies of choice for those deprived of physical pleasure. "
all quotes from,
Article Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence
Thus where physical pleasures are lacking, violence is found. Also drug use. Children raised by physically affectionate parents with lots of huggins and touching become non-violent adults, whereas those deprived become violent. Is a table on the link about conservatism too but that's parenthetical. Search/Find for the word'll take you right to it though (it's a sizable page, and it's just the short version.)
