Will War Ever End?. Paul K. Chappell

Will War Ever End? - Paul K. Chappell


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escape to the safety of trees. With such significant drawbacks, how did human beings survive and prosper in the harsh conditions of Africa?

      We survived because of our large brains and our endless capacity to cooperate. In fact, our large brains make us even more dependent upon cooperation, because our intelligence cannot develop unless a community protects us and gives us the gifts of language and knowledge while we are young. Because our large brains take many years to fully mature, a human child remains helpless for a longer period of time than the offspring of any organism and requires a community to further its growth and development.

      All mammals cooperate to some degree, while many mammals rely on cooperation for their survival. Lions live in prides, for example, while elephants live in herds, wolves in packs, dolphins in pods, and chimpanzees in troops. But due to our physical limitations, along with the conditions our large brains require to fully develop, we rely on cooperation far more than any other mammal.

      Many people do not understand that cooperation is the key to our survival, because they incorrectly assume that the purpose of every organism is merely to survive, reproduce, or provide for its self-interest, but this is not true. In a hive of honeybees, only the queen bee is capable of reproduction. The female worker bee labors for the well-being of her community, and in an act of ultimate self-sacrifice, every worker bee must give her life when she defends her hive, by leaving behind her vital organs when she delivers her defensive sting.

      Where mammals are concerned, a gorilla will die to protect its family members and a wolf will die to defend its pack. Gorillas, wolves, and other mammals serve their community because the purpose of every organism is not merely to survive, reproduce, or provide for its self-interest, but to continue the survival of its species. Because bees, ants, gorillas, and wolves rely upon their communities for survival, they are instinctually willing to protect their communities at the risk of losing their lives.

      Since human beings, more than all other mammals, require cooperation to survive, our reliance upon our community is even more important for us. To survive, we have a bond powerful enough to hold a community together and to encourage selfless service, sacrifice, and cooperation among its members. If you and I were stranded in the wilderness, my genuine concern for your well-being would be the only bond strong enough to prevent me from leaving you when times were hard, killing you when food was scarce, or breaking the cooperation that allowed us both to survive. This is why our genuine concern for the well-being of others, also known as unconditional love, is not a naïve moral virtue but a crucial survival instinct that makes cooperation possible.

      My experiences in the military allowed me to understand this fact about unconditional love. If a soldier’s friend or loved one is in danger, the soldier will often risk his or her life to protect that friend or loved one. This is an instinctual response that occurs when we see those we care about in danger, because on the dangerous plains of Africa our ancestors were not fast enough to run away from a pride of hungry lions. They had to stand their ground and frighten these predators away by brandishing torches, wielding large sticks, throwing rocks, and so on.

      In the military, this bond of love and brotherhood among soldiers is absolutely necessary for their survival. One afternoon while I was deployed in Baghdad, I heard an explosion in the distance while I was on my way to lunch. In Iraq such noise was common, so I paid little attention and continued walking. I had taken only a few steps when I heard something approaching from behind me. At first it sounded like a jet, but it was flying too low. Something was wrong, I realized, as the noise roared closer. Before I could turn around I heard something pass over my head. A split second later a deafening explosion shook the earth. Seventy-five meters in front of me, a 157-millimeter Katyusha rocket had slammed into the army base where I and many other soldiers worked. Since these rocket attacks came in groups, I immediately took cover and heard several more blasts. Within a minute, the attack was over and a momentary silence ensued, followed by screams.

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