Tow #3-(article)" Are We Hard-Wired for War?" By: David P. Barash

In this thought-provoking article, Barash looks towards our biological make-up to try to refute the idea that war is simply human nature. He starts with the claim of the other side, citing various sources such as The National Interest and New Scientist. He then looks at our evolutionary relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, two similar species that are very different in how they address conflict. Barash narrows this idea by then citing different tribal groups, all of which have different ways to deal with conflict as well, and many of them peaceful, and concludes that war is not simply human condition. This idea is essentially the author’s point. As people look at the growing tension in Syria and United States intervention, they may wonder if humans are simply wired for war. But in this article Barash dispels this misconception. Through his use of anecdotes and appeals to logos and ethos, Barash makes his argument more convincing. For example, he establishes the claim from the other side before moving on to his own, which makes it seem like he has carefully considered both sides of the argument. He also has science and history to back up his claims. Finally, Barash ends strong with a story about a Native American girl who dreams of two wolves fighting, and asks her grandfather what it means. Her grandfather says that one wolf represents peace and the other war, and that whoever wins in this eternal struggle is the one she feeds. This illustrates the point that humans can decide whether to make peace or make war. The audience of this article is probably the American public, because they have seen the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and are weary of more fighting. The author achieved his purpose by thoughtfully looking at all sides of the argument and pointing out examples and counterexamples, showing that war is not wired into the human brain. David Barash has been a psychology teacher at the University of Washington-Seattle since 1973. He has written numerous books about violence and other human behaviors.