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From: josh@topaz.ARPA (J Storrs Hall)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion,net.flame
Subject: Re: A Question!
Message-ID: <860@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 4-Mar-85 07:22:34 EST
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Posted: Mon Mar  4 07:22:34 1985
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>          tim sevener  whuxl!orb
> Other species also do not have the peculiar institution of war: as ethologists
> have pointed out, while most species have established forms of agression
> for mating and so forth, a part of these forms is to *stop before murder*.
> It would not do the species much good if fighting over mates led to the
> decimation of the protagonists.

The murder rate among many animals (not just Black Widows, I mean higher
primates such as the Hamadryas babboon) are several times as high as
human rates.  The "benevolent nature" myth is just that.

--JoSH