Normative Elements & Violence; Thoughts on Society by Payman Akhlaghi (2018)

Normative Elements & Violence
Thoughts on Society By Payman Akhlaghi (2018)
(Draft 6)

(*) First published on Sunday, October 28th, 2018, on facebook.com/PAComposer under Thoughts on Society: Normative Elements & Violence.

Even for many an impulsive, visceral, or reflexive act, and notwithstanding the powers of intellect and judicious discernment, the normative elements of the culture as acquired by the individual are decisive in the choices that he or she could make, and the behavior that he or she could manifest, in response to the internal and external stimuli. I used "culture" broadly to include the atmosphere in which the person inhales and absorbs throughout their biological life, from their family to the larger society.

Ideological violence is an instance of the expression of such codes of conduct, as accepted by the agent, which endorse resorting to violence as a valid if not preferred response to any perceived threat, whether tangible or abstract, as a means to advance one's cause, or as an answer to one's urges and desires. Superficial distinctions such as race, religion, class, expertise, nationality, power, ethnicity, or certain biological anomalies, or acquired distinctions such as political affiliations or other labels attracted due to personal conduct, they could each fill the variable for the target of violence at one point or another. However, a cursory survey suggests that amid a diversity of values, the formula applies broadly to the zealot branches of traditional and modern religions in particular, including the socio-political ideologies of our time.

The prescriptive elements that validate an isolated act of violence are hardly ever absent in the larger context within which the heinous act has taken place. Societies in which violence is institutionalized categorically as the preferred and particularly immediate course of action, whether in intimate contacts or in the larger social or inter-social interactions, they can and do function as fertile grounds for ideological violence, even though a variety of entities may function as the agent, the target, or the cause, at one point or another.

(*) The above was formulated as an Opinion.
(*) The author is a musician by inclination and education.

(*) Addendum:
From my weblog, several earlier posts by the author that are relevant to the topic, also found on FB:

- And Moses Was a Modest Man: An Essay on Life and Judaism (2014).

- On The Gun Issue: Some Preliminary Practical Thoughts; An Opinion by Payman Akhlaghi (2014).

- Use Words! Don't Strike! Even When Talking to a Rock...: A Short Note by Payman Akhlaghi (2013).


(*) Attachment:
(*) First published on October 28th, 2018, at facebook.com/PAComposer under Thoughts:

Thoughts: Interactive virtual entertainment with subjective points of view, and anthropomorphic targets, and realistic or hyperrealistic representations, which involve severe acts of violence should be approached prudently. The categorical objectification of large sectors of humanity in common realistic contexts may only combine to exacerbate their impact on attitude in select vulnerable users. The experience remains distinct from the more passive experience of exposure to imaginative depictions of violence, particularly when a sense of the external reality is implicit in the distancing elements of the medium and the art work.
-- Payman Akhlaghi. (Draft 3)

© 2018, Payman Akhlaghi. All rights reserved.