Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace

by Douglas P. Fry

Book Overview

A profoundly heartening view of human nature, Beyond War offers a hopeful prognosis for a future without war. Douglas P. Fry convincingly argues that our ancient ancestors were not innately warlike--and neither are we. He points out that, for perhaps ninety-nine percent of our history, for well over a million years, humans lived in nomadic hunter-and-gatherer groups, egalitarian bands where warfare was a rarity. Drawing on archaeology and fascinating...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019538461X
• ISBN13: 9780195384611
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Eye-Opening and Absorbing

Not so long ago, the institution of slavery was accepted by most people and women were considered too "dumb" to vote. Today a popular misconception is that human beings are inherently violent and that war has been and always will be with us. However, as "Beyond War" illustrates, war is not in our genes. We can choose peace. Just as Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" helped to depose the institution of slavery by shining a spotlight on faulty assumptions upon which it was based, Professor Douglas Fry has knocked the props out from under the erroneous assumptions that help justify the institution of war. With an impressive wealth of data from ethnological studies and the archaeological record, "Beyond War" pops the hot air balloons of those primatologists (Wrangham), and other war-fogged scholars (Lorenz, LeBlanc) who would have us believe that humans were territorial killers from the get-go. Every high school and college student, as well as concerned adult, should be exposed to the truths set out clearly in this very absorbing book. If our species doesn't commit suicide based on falsehoods in the next century or so, history will record that Douglas Fry helped to topple the institution of war by his insightful expose of the facts. With their more informed perspective, our descendants will condemn us for accepting the horrors of war just as we are shocked by those who perpetuated slavery. Don't miss reading this eye-opening classic.

Beyond Assumptions that War is Inevitable

This book caught my eye because Robert Sapolsky, the author of one of my favorite books, "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers," wrote the foreword praising it. I was not disappointed. "Beyond War" is just plain facinating and fun to read. This book questions some so-called "deep seated truths" in our society about war that turn out not to be true at all. Like Sapolsky's books, "Beyond War" is a bit quirky sometimes, and I think this is good. I wish more scientists would write in a style that is understandable and enjoyable to read. I could easily follow the path of "Beyond War" as it travels to peaceful cultures, to the ancient past, and then, dare I say, "back to the future." For one message of the book is that we could have a future free of war because looking at our species from a broader view shows what we sometimes don't see close up: War is recent on an evolutionary scale, an outgrowth of increasing human population, and not some deeply-rooted trait that we necessarily must forevermore endure. I agree with Robert Sapolsky that "this book should be read." I give it my 5 stars.

A Refreshing View of the Human Capacity for Peace

This is a great book. And there are many reasons why. It is rare to find such an intriguing mix of anthropology, evolutionary theory, and global thinking in one book. We learn about bonobos, coprolites, the walls of Jericho, cannibalism, and much more. "Beyond War" avoids getting mired in the seemingly ceaseless battle between cultural anthropology and evolutionary psychology over human nature. Instead, this book presents an integrated view of war and peace that includes both evolutionary and cultural angles. How refreshing. I also really like the book's message that we humans have evolved capacities to deal with conflicts without violence. It makes sense. Most conflicts do not entail any violence at all. Male stags lock antlers and push as a form of contest that reduces the chance of injury. Evolution would favor such restraint in human aggression as well, and we are given many examples of human restraint in this book. The author of "Beyond War", Douglas Fry, also is very skillful at documenting a bias in anthropological and evolutionary thinking--a bias that war is deep rooted in our human past. The book does this by critiquing assumptions and presenting findings on the simplest kind of human societies--nomadic hunter-gatherers--in a writing style that is clever and entertaining. "Beyond War" is fun to read and makes one think. From Iraq to global warming, we get inundated every day with doom and gloom. "Beyond War", however, ends with a cautiously optimistic assessment of our human future. The book makes a strong case that we humans certainly have the capacity to create a more peaceful world. Will we do it? I don't know, but it is a valuable first step to realize that it may well be possible. As the adage says, "from hope stems action."

A Fantastic Book

There are plenty of self-proclaimed "realists" advancing the argument that war comes naturally to human beings, but few scholars with the knowledge to effectively question that view and the writing ability to make their challenge a pleasure to read. Fry is one of them. I won't get into the debate itself, better to buy the book and let Fry lay it out for you. I would, however, disagree with the previous reviewer about the importance of defining "war" before concluding that it is pervasive in human life. As Fry shows quite convincingly, you can only make the case for the universality of "war" if you define it as just about any lethal violence between three or more people. So a jealous man and his brother killing a third man (even within the same community) is considered to be "war" in these studies. Very misleading, dishonest science. The example from New Guinea is equally misleading. The reviewer is correct about the aggressive relations between groups there, but does he really think a tightly-packed island is a relevant model for the conditions in which human beings evolved? The world was a big, empty place from the perspective of early humans. Walking away from conflict was always an option. By the time studies were conducted in New Guinea, population density had reached a point where there was no place left to go in order to avoid conflict. This is more relevant to present conditions than to prehistory. But the reviewer's point about whether or not there is a universal human propensity to behave aggressively toward those not in our group (language, culture) is a good one. My reading of Fry's argument is that he acknowledges that humans have the "capacity" for violence, but not necessarily the "tendency." Obviously, we are capable of horrible brutality, but the notion that it comes naturally to us is belied by the severity and ubiquity of post-traumatic stress in those who have acted in violence -- other than psychopaths. Wolves and sharks don't suffer after having killed. Humans, by and large, do. In any case, I highly recommend Beyond War to anyone who wants to hear the other side of the story, and who wants to enjoy themselves as they learn.

A Great Read for Every Person

This is terrific! "Beyond War" by Dr. Fry presents an uplifting and highly readable look at a very timely topic. It should be required reading for every member of the human race, and I'm sure that each person would love the assignment. It's a fresh scientific look at a most important aspect of the nature of man, and it is an attention grabber which both the scientist and non-scientist can enjoy. This book should be getting major publicity! And we all should be reading more from Dr. Fry.