Theories of Violence and the Explanation of Ultra-Violent Behaviour

Patricia Turrisi; Michael J. Shaffer

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Theories of Violence and the Explanation of Ultra-Violent Behaviour

In: Violence: âMercurial Gestaltâ

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Patricia Turrisi

Patricia Turrisi
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Michael J. Shaffer

Michael J. Shaffer
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 11â27

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789401200653_003

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Various scientific disciplines offer radically different accounts of the origin of violence, but it is not clear how the study of violence is to be âscientificallyâ grounded. Moreover, social scientists, biologists, anthropologists, and neurophysiologists differ about what sorts of acts constitute violence and how it is to be explained. In this chapter we investigate whether any of these general theoretical approaches can be clearly considered to be the best approach to the explanation of the origination of violent behaviour, and our specific aim is to examine the controversial explanation of violent behaviour offered by Lonnie Athens. The scientific study of violence currently uses some dozen major theories that fall into four major categories to account for violence among humans. Most assume violence is deviant and caused by factors that preside over the person, whether internally or externally. Natural theories attribute violence to congenital causes such as genetics, hormonal conditions, gender, or pathologies such as schizophrenia or bipolar disease. Biological conditions that are said to account for violent behaviour include brain damage, physical abuse, and malnutrition. Theories attributing violence to external causes claim violent actions arise from gender socialization, mental illness, or conditions in the home, school and society. Mediainduced violence is a popular theory among sociologists, while some neuropsychologists study the influence of exposure to violent acts upon neurological states. An exception to theorists who find violence to be deviant, primate anthropologists are apt to explain violence as a normal evolutionary adaptation. Remaining theories hold that violence is random, inexplicable or simply âcrazy,â in other words, impervious to explanation. In this paper we analyze an array of types of theories of violence in contrast to an approach that purports to be the best explanation, that of Lonnie Athens in The Creation of Dangerous Violent Criminals (1992) and Violent Criminal Acts and Actors Revisited (1997): the violent socialization of the person through a four-stage holistic and experiential process. We conclude that Athensâ theory is not the best explanation of violent behaviour when compared with its competitors on the basis of typical accounts of what it is to be the best explanation of a phenomenon.

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Violence: âMercurial Gestaltâ

Series:Â At the Interface / Probing the Boundaries, Volume: 47

E-Book ISBN:: 9789401200653

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 01 Jan 2008

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Theories of Violence and the Explanation of Ultra-Violent Behaviour

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Violence: âMercurial Gestaltâ

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Violence: âMercurial Gestaltâ