George R. Pitman Releases WHY WAR?

Debut author George R. Pitman in "Why War?" investigates the multifaceted reasons of why war has been so ubiquitous among human societies since they separated from chimpanzees more than six million years ago. His examination begins by confronting the grim and stubborn fact of the ubiquity of war suggests that war has a genetic basis that evolved in man's prehistory or even before in his common ancestor that he shares with the chimpanzee that, as territorial animals, fought to enlarge their territories to increase the fertility of their females. After describing prehistoric human warfare, Pitman discusses the role that war played in the rise of civilizations.

Pitman then discusses how racial, ethnic and religious xenophobia drives humans into wars and genocides. Although many people can live in peace with those who are different, whether because of ethnicity, religion or race, hidden xenophobes remain that can light a match over minor problems, leading to violent conflict. "Why War?" discusses the pleasures and excitement that soldiers receive from killing their enemies and the strong bonds of comradeship that develop between men who fight together. When a nation is attacked or when its leaders propose a war of conquest, a war fever - a "rage militarie" - develops among its population that usually dissipates into war fatigue as the causalities and costs of the war rise.

"Why War?" also discusses the biological, neurological and hormonal factors that cause aggressiveness in humans, especially in boys and men and how other hormones can modulate this aggressiveness. Young men and boys make good soldiers because of their willingness to take risks that older men will not take. Children are often recruited into the armies of tyrants because of their immaturity and lack of a moral consciousness. The human mind is slow to mature and often does not reach its full maturity until a person is in his or her late twenties. Hubris or overconfidence in ones abilities often results in poor decision making that leads to catastrophic consequences as it did in the U.S. decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The book concludes with a discussion of wars and conflicts in the contemporary world including Russia's aggression in Ukraine, China's assertiveness in Eastern Asia and in the South and East China Seas, the rise of militant Islam in the Middle East and Africa and in the ethnic and religious wars in Africa.

George R. Pitman is uniquely qualified to investigate the genetic, evolutionary, neurological and social sources of human warfare. Trained as a physicist who once designed missile guidance systems, he then studied international relations at UCLA and served as the science advisor to the strategic arms control bureaus of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the U.S. State Department and to the delegations that negotiated the strategic arms control treaties with the Soviet Union. After his retirement he decided to devote his time to studying the causes of human warfare. As a result, he felt the need to study the biology of human evolution, neurology and anthropology. Pitman has published books and papers on the subjects of war and peace including "Neither War nor Peace: A History of the Cold War and Strategic Arms Control: 1945 -1972," "A Calculus of Military Stability" and "Arms Races and Stable Deterrence."

For additional information please visit www.whywargeorgepitman.com

Why War? An Inquiry into the Genetic and Social Sources of Human Warfare
George Pitman
Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4575-3548-2 320 pages $15.95 US

Available at Ingram, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and fine bookstores everywhere

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