Theory Of Violence

Paper Summary:

Examines causes of violence in U.S. society. Focus on theory of Dr. James Gilligan regarding the nature and origins o different forms of violence. Discusses two works dealing with social alientation in light of Gilligan's theory. THE FIRE NEXT TIME by James Baldwin and THE AGE OF MISSING INFORMATION by Bill McKibben.

From the Paper:

"Dr. James Gilligan, in an insightful study of violence among men, theorizes a cycle of poverty, shame, violence and punishment that is continually perpetuated in modern American society, aided in no small part by our penal system. His book Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and its Causes delves into the nature and origins of violence, hinging the crux of his theory upon the notion that The different forms of violence, whether toward individuals or entire populations, are motivated (caused) by feelings of shame (111). Under the umbrella of shame are huddled some devastating psychological companions: humiliation, absence of self-love, and ultimately, numbness. It is precisely this numbness, this death of self, that can lay a foundation for acting out (the expression of thought by actions rather than words), from which violence may be unleashed."

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