Aggressiveness : a critical examination of the concept of the instinct of Pugnacity

Abstract

It seems hardly necessary to justify research into a topic such as the one we have chosen; rather should the apology be made for personal incompetence to deal with it. It would seem, however, upon analysis, that two principal motives have been operative in the preparation of this essay. First, it is an attempt to clarify, by means of a critical survey, a concept widely used in scientific thought. Accurate thinking requires the use of accurate language. Science, which aims above all things to be precise, must confine itself to the use of terms which have an exact connotation. The second purpose is a more immediate one. Youth today is passionately interested in the problem of war - its history, its causes, and its implications. Especially does it concern itself with the realtion between war and human nature, i.e. with the biological basis of warlike attitudes and habits. Our inquiry is intended secondarily as a contribution, however small, to the clarification of this wital issue. A word must be said concerning the methodological devices used in this essay, the purpose of which is to give clarity and coherence to the material presented. Names of books have been printed in large red type; italics (whether within a quotation, or our own), in small red type. References have been inserted for convenience at the bottom of their respective pages, but have been numbered, not consecutively for each page, but consecutively for each chapter. Furthermore, to keep the illustrations of our text distinct from the text itself, illustrative or descriptive quotations have been typed in single spacing. (It must not be assumed from this that such quotations are irrelevant to the text; they are an essential, yet, nonetheless, illustrative rather than textual, part of our essay). Finally, certain additional remarks, especially within quotations or concerning quoted ideas, are inserted in square brackets.