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Is violence rooted at the core of the human psyche or is it an inevitable reaction to unbalanced and unjust social relations? This question engages increasingly detailed research and constitutes the cornerstone of Foraboschi´s study. However, since the percentage of murders is high even among carnivore animals, the hypothesis forms that violence may be deeply rooted in the animal psyche. Killing is not merely the consequence of predation. One may kill in self-defence, in order to maintain demographic balance or the "carrying capacity" of a territory on which one´s livelihood or residence depends. Social violence offers a different case. Oppressed people act in revolt in order to brake their chains and free themselves. The French Revolution is a topical, albeit contradictory example of this. According to the majority of philosopher violence and history are intrinsically bound. Should this state of things be overcome at a higher level of evolution or is this the ultimate, positive aspect of history?
In his study Foraboschi follows the trails of violence in the ancient world, sheding inter alia light on voluptousness, cannibalism, sacrifices, the female/male dialectics of violence as well as the dialectics of love and war, covering the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD.

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