“What makes hate tick? How can we stop it?” These are the questions that Jim Mohr, director of Gonzaga University’s Institute for Action Against Hate, asks himself every day as he develops a new field of study around hate. Mohr believes that despite all the devastating examples of hate in the world, no one really understands why one person hates another. The institute hopes to change that through the interdisciplinary study of hate, incorporating insights from history, psychology, religious studies, anthropology, and political science. Mohr cautions against simple explanations of the emotion and points out that fear, greed, and even the desire to belong can drive hate. That said, he is also optimistic: “We can change. There has to be hope.” [%comments]
Why Do We Hate?
TAGS: emotions
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Hopefully this study will lead to level headed discussion (and perhaps some progress) on this issue vs. exacerbating the rancor.
The definition of “hate” is so subjective int he minds of individuals that a half baked study could do more harm than good. To some hate is everywhere. To others it does not exist.
I wish John Mohr luck.
To the extent that hate seems to be one of those irregular nouns, couldn’t one even go so far as to claim that “we hate” is an oxymoron?
*We* never hate., do we?
Consider: how many times in the past eight years have you heard someone say: “They are doing this because they hate everything about us.” You’ve lost count, haven’t you? And how many times have you heard anyone say “We are doing this because we hate everything about them.” I’ll wager the answer is “never”.
Mohr will find that hate is the reaction to not getting what one desires. He will find that our perception of truth is what drives hate. He will find that truth is subjective when hate occurs. He will conclude that the only way to deal with hate is to make truth objective and he will find that this will not be possible when blending multiple disciplines.
This seems to buttress the theory of original sin.
All of what makes us tick as animals derives from evoluation and our struggle to survive. “Hate” is necessary to survival. One can imagine that as our early forebears competed intensely for food (i.e. limited resources) to survive, territorial possession with access to the source of the foodstuffs was a survival imperative. Hate becomes a useful emotion against a competitor.
Here’s a nice experiment to try: Deprive NYC of food, water and electricity. Then, wait and see how long it takes for chaos, violence and mayhem to break out as the tens of thousands of beings compete for survival.
That’s from where hate spings.
Why should we stop to hate evil?
It’s the most rational and natural reaction in the world, and the reason why we are civilised nowadays.
Hate can be a force of good and motivate people to do heroic things they would not achieve if they were ambivalent or afraid.
Hate, not hugs for Nazis and other evil people/systems/ideas!
(So I think the topic needs to be rephrased, I can see where you want to go, but your starting point is invalid. One man’s hate is another mans’ heroism, it’s impossible to take sides.)
Philosophy is a blatant omission from the above list. Hate has many sources and takes many forms. Often we see some forms of hate as legitimate (the hatred that Christians felt toward pagan romans) or understandable (the hatred of a Palestinian for the Israeli state?)
There are certainly interesting pathways to be explored in neuroscience and psychology with regard to hatred, but the answer to hate is right in front of us: eliminate it at its root, that is, eliminate ressentiment in all aspects of human life.
Don’t take away my hate; it’s all I have left.