Why Do Humans Kill Each Other

“Humans are the most intelligent species on Earth. They can build cities, create art, discover science, write books, make music, and much more. But humans also kill each other in wars, commit crimes, destroy nature, and so forth. Why do humans kill? It’s not like we need an answer to this question to survive or anything; our species has been around for hundreds of thousands of years without killing everyone else off.
There are some who argue that violence is inherent in human beings as members of a social animal. We’re naturally wired to compete with one another for resources. This means that when two individuals meet, there will be competition between them. One person could physically harm the other if he/she thinks s/he’ll get a better deal by doing so. There is no way to stop these instincts since they’ve evolved over time.
But why would anyone intentionally hurt someone else just because of greed, power, etc.? What possible benefit could come from such actions? And what makes us different from animals? The reason why humans kill may seem obvious to some, but difficult to explain to others. To answer this question, you first must understand how your brain works.
Our brains consist of billions of neurons. Neurons are specialized cells within our bodies that send messages throughout our body via electrical impulses. These impulses cause muscles to contract or relax, which makes certain parts of our body move. For example, when you look at something funny, your facial expressions change, causing your eyes to laugh. You see, neurons allow our minds to control our bodies through electrical signals.
Neuroscientists believe that all mammals possess the ability to feel pain. However, only humans can consciously perceive pain. When injured, animals react automatically by avoiding their injury site, licking themselves clean, or seeking help from predators. In contrast, humans try to avoid painful stimuli, but sometimes cannot due to their higher intelligence.
This means that we don’t always respond to pain the same way animals do. If we were to take away our free will, we’d act according to our instinctual response. Animals lack the self-consciousness to know whether the stimulus is safe or harmful. As a result, they suffer even worse than those who experience pain but never realize it.
The main difference between humans and animals lies in our capacity to choose or decide things. Animals simply follow their instincts while we use our brains to analyze situations before acting. We may decide to eat food that tastes good, sleep under the stars, or mate with the opposite sex. But unlike animals, we can do things without thinking about them too much.
For instance, I can go to a restaurant and order whatever I want without worrying about calories, fat content, cholesterol, sodium intake, sugar levels, carbohydrates, protein intake, etc., all because I can exercise discipline. Some people call this “”free will.””
However, there are still times where we don’t make conscious decisions, such as during sleep, periods of unconsciousness, and dreams. Our subconscious mind controls such activities. Scientists say that our conscience (a part of our brain responsible for thinking) allows us to compare our behavior against moral standards. Therefore, when we consider hurting others, we ask ourselves if what we did was right.
So does this mean that humans are inherently violent? Not necessarily. Studies show that children often become violent after experiencing trauma, such as witnessing domestic abuse, bullying, traffic accidents, gun shots, murders, war, etc. Even though these experiences can lead to aggression, it doesn’t mean that every child born into such traumatic conditions becomes a psychopathic killer. Children who grow up in normal families rarely become violent unless influenced by external factors.
Children who witness negative events early in life tend to develop violent tendencies later on. Researchers attribute this to our inability to cope with stress, especially in teenagers. Teenagers’ prefrontal cortex (PFC) isn’t fully developed until age 25. Until then, adolescents rely heavily on their amygdala to process information. Their amygdalae cause them to fear everything, including strangers. That’s why teenagers should spend less time watching TV and more time interacting with friends.
Unfortunately, children today watch too much television, play video games, surf the Internet, text message, and talk to their friends instead of spending time outdoors. This leads to poor social skills, anxiety, depression, and obesity. Such habits contribute to low birth weight babies, attention deficit disorder, drug addiction, suicide, eating disorders, etc.
We all know that humans are capable of great acts of kindness and generosity. For example, you can donate money to charity, volunteer your time, work hard to provide for your family, care for sick relatives, and countless other altruistic activities. On the other hand, you can also steal, murder, rape, cheat, lie, exploit workers, engage in terrorism, and so forth. So why do humans kill?
As discussed earlier, humans are wired to compete with one another. Many people enjoy hunting because it feels natural. Others prefer fishing because it requires patience and skill. Still others enjoy sports because they involve teamwork and competition. People participate in these activities for different reasons, but once started, they continue regardless of outcome.
When playing sports, fans root for teams based on personal beliefs. They cheer loudly when winning, boo opponents, and criticize referees. Fans yell insults and taunt players who lose. Sometimes, they even throw objects onto the field. They might beat their chests, stomp feet, spit on the ground, and wave flags.
People who hate sports find it boring to sit through long practices and games. They complain bitterly when losing, shout obscenities, and curse the referee. They may even break equipment and trash facilities.
Sports lovers justify such behaviors by saying that athletes deserve praise when performing well. Similarly, haters blame losers for bringing down the spirits of winners and fans. Although both groups claim victory, neither wins. Sports enthusiasts have nothing to show for their efforts except sore legs, backs, and bruised egos. Haters have nothing to celebrate besides feeling frustrated and angry.
Many people love to hunt because it involves planning, strategy, cooperation, and teamwork. Hunters use camouflage, tracking, observation, and stealth to stalk prey. They prepare weapons, sharpen tools, and utilize traps. Then they wait patiently for hours, days, weeks, months, or years. After waiting, they shoot their prey and feast upon its flesh.
Hunters love being out in the wilderness, listening to birds chirp, wind blowing, water flowing, and wildlife calling. Some hunters walk miles along trails to reach their hunting grounds. They camp far away from civilization and depend on themselves alone for survival. They live off game meat, fish, berries, nuts, roots, plants, and fruits.
Haters of hunting claim that they’re forced to kill animals against their will. Furthermore, they say that animals aren’t killed quickly enough. They argue that the animal suffers unnecessarily before dying. Most hunters disagree and state that animals die instantly when shot. They say that animals suffer less and suffer quicker deaths than those caught in traps, hunted by dogs, beaten, starved, poisoned, attacked by other animals, and eaten alive.
Hunting is a tradition passed down from generation to generation. Some people value the thrill of being able to hunt, whereas others view it as cruel. Hunting is legal in several countries, but banned in others. Laws vary worldwide regarding this issue.
While some hunters kill for sport and recreation, others hunt for food. They usually catch large numbers of animals and sell them to markets. Hunters mostly slaughter animals using knives, guns, bows, spears, poison, and bludgeoning. They consume the meat raw or cooked.
In addition to providing food, hunters also protect livestock, collect seeds, harvest tree bark, gather medicinal herbs, and perform ceremonies involving prayers, offerings, and sacrifice. Many indigenous cultures believe that hunting gives them access to spiritual powers.
Other people hunt for trophies, hides, furs, feathers, antlers, horns, teeth, claws, and hooves. They carve, scrape, cut, file, pierce, drill, polish, dry, smoke, tan, weave, sew, glue, and dye animal products. A few artists use skin for brushes, canvases, screens, and floor coverings.
Animals are important sources of medicine, clothing, shelter, transportation, food, cosmetics, jewelry, building materials, energy production, fertilizer, and entertainment. Humans depend on animals for food, clothes, pets, transport, companionship, fuel, protection, entertainment, and more. Without animals, humans wouldn’t exist.
It’s true that humans kill other animals unintentionally. Dogs attack cats, bears trap small rodents, sharks harass seals, lions hunt zebras, dolphins hunt tuna, and so forth. But humans are the top carnivores on Earth and typically target larger animals.
If you’re wondering why humans kill, you shouldn’t. Your purpose here on Earth is to live and love. Unfortunately, you must also learn to accept death. Death comes to us all, sooner or later. While living, we can prevent diseases, injuries, car crashes, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, floods, storms, famine, drought, starvation, pollution, and environmental”