In this book the author debunks a currently fashionable theory - the notion that 'human beings are inescapable killers' - and sets forth the scientific evidence for an alternative view.

Unchecked aggression and violence take a significant toll on society. With recent advances in pharmacology and genetic manipulation techniques, new interest has developed in the biological mechanisms of aggression. The primary goal of this title is to summarise and synthesis recent advances in the subject.

also many newer lines of research, to which I will return below, are represented in various chapters. And finally, I have included a sepa rate unit on methods for the study of aggression-a feature that I believe to be unique to the present volume. In these ways, I have at tempted to produce a text that is as broad and eclectic in coverage as I could make it. While the present volume grew, in part, out of my desire to pro duce what I thought might prove to be a useful teaching aid, it also developed out of a second major motive. During the past few years, a large number of new-and to me, exciting-lines of investigation have emerged in rapid order. These have been extremely varied in scope, including, among many others, such diverse topics as the effects of sexual arousal upon aggression, the impact of environmental factors (e. g. , heat, noise, crowding) upon such behavior, interracial aggres sion, and the influence of heightened self-awareness. Despite the fact that such topics have already generated a considerable amount of re search, they were not, to my knowledge, adequately represented irt any existing volume. Given this state of affairs, it seemed to me that a reasonably comprehensive summary of this newer work might prove both useful and timely.

The leading theoretical models that explain aggression are discussed and applied to the analysis of several kinds of real-life aggressive behavior, such as sexual violence, aggression in close relationships, bullying, and the activities of spectators at sporting events.

Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think this is the most violent age ever seen. Yet as bestselling author Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true.