Good point Arcturus.
I know some theists wonder why there is so much violence amongst humans, when reading the evolutionary explanation of altruism. They wonder that if such behavior has a genetic component, why are we so nasty?
The reason is that people are mostly altruistic to those that he/she considers to be part of 'the group'. It is indeed a common occurance that when a conflict arises, the other side is made to appear less human. Slavery could exsist as long as it did because black people weren't considered real humans. And it also works the other way - people who try to bring peace often emphasize how much both sides have in common. They try to draw the other side into our 'group'.
This behavior is also clear in other group species. Chimps will mostly stick together, but sometimes completely wipe out another tribe of chimps without batting an eye.
I know some theists wonder why there is so much violence amongst humans, when reading the evolutionary explanation of altruism. They wonder that if such behavior has a genetic component, why are we so nasty?
The reason is that people are mostly altruistic to those that he/she considers to be part of 'the group'. It is indeed a common occurance that when a conflict arises, the other side is made to appear less human. Slavery could exsist as long as it did because black people weren't considered real humans. And it also works the other way - people who try to bring peace often emphasize how much both sides have in common. They try to draw the other side into our 'group'.
This behavior is also clear in other group species. Chimps will mostly stick together, but sometimes completely wipe out another tribe of chimps without batting an eye.
When I was a Christian, I was annoyed with dogmatic condescending Christians. Now that I'm an atheist, I'm annoyed with dogmatic condescending atheists. Just goes to prove that people are the same, regardless of what they do or don't believe.
