¿Por qué elegimos la violencia?

Un acercamiento a los factores que motivan la violencia directa y estructural

Abstract

Since childhood, human beings learn through interaction those social behaviorsthat are perceived as correct and incorrect. As we grow, each person begins to build a moral reasoning not only guided by those behaviors that have been learned, but also by individual life experiences, beliefs and values and principles of that person.

 

Moral reasoning and empathy, along with other factors such as the environ ment, living conditions, the characteristics of the situation and the benefits that may be acquired or lost, are involved in decision-making, both in the daily and simple ones and in those that can have consequences for an entire community or society. The use of direct violence such as theft, murder and physical aggression, or structural violence, beliefs, ideologies and strategies developed within the system from which a human group is organized, is a choice that will always involve generating harm to another, that can start a cycle of aggressions and every action will lead to another with the intention of producing a greater harm.

 

Thus, the purpose of this essay is an approach to the understanding of what can lead people to commit violent acts, based on the premises of different authors on moral emotions, the origin and development of moral reasoning, the role of beliefs and prejudices in the perception of each individual about himself or herself, his or her actions, the world and others, and empathy as a capacity to build bonds between people, which can also generate the exclusion of others. These factors will have an impact on both our daily decisions and those that can affect the well-being of a group, community, or society, producing violent socio-economic and political structures.