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Originally Posted by Skutch
Good point. I suppose what fascinates me is the spontaneous destructiveness of the late infant/toddler, regardless of race, creed, color, socio-economic background, etc. I am referring to a period of human experience where social constraints haven't entered the picture. The amount of biting, scratching, tearing, poking and general mayhem emanating from such a small and inexperienced creature is not only impressive, but serves as a telling commentary on the adult of the species as well, at least to my way of thinking. It seems once past this period of expressive instinctual violence, we are henceforth in a struggle to curb our appetite for destruction.
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By late infant/toddler, social constraints are already there. Socialization begins at day one, some people might argue it begins before the baby is even born. I don't know anything about your experience with infants, but my experience with them has been completely different from what you describe. It's not like kids that age are too young to have motivations for their behaviors. For you to ascribe to them some sort of innate tendency towards violence completely ignores the fact that they are already individuals, absorbing information from their surroundings constantly, with their own personal tendencies and temperaments.
I also can't relate to the idea that i am in a constant struggle to curb my appetite for destruction. It doesn't make sense to me. If animals are innately violent, then how come the wild ones aren't all on constant rampages? As far as i can tell, most of them live almost completely peaceful lives, and only resort to violence when they feel threatened or need to eat. They aren't socialized at all. What's their excuse for being able to overcome in their constant struggle with their appetite for destruction? If socialization is the root of humanity's ability to set aside it's blood lust, what qualities do animals possess that allow them to set aside their blood lust without the benefit of socialization, and do these qualities, by virtue of their innateness, actually mean that animals are naturally more discrete than humanity in their use of violence? Does this mean that animals are actually more civilized than humans?