Dying and Killing to Establish the Reality of a Sacred Ideal
Koenigsberg's Law of Sacrifice |
Human beings die and kill in order to establish the reality of a sacred idea or ideal. Killing and dying are undertaken in order to prove "the truth." Political violence (war, genocide, terrorism) is undertaken when doubts arise as to the validity of a society's sacred ideal.
Killing and dying constitute a demonstration of commitment, or sincerity. That which we die for becomes real or true. The nature of the entity or idea for which human beings die and kill is fungible. Among these ideas or ideologies:
- France
- Germany
- The British Empire
- The (Japanese) Emperor
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- Allah
- Freedom and democracy
- A Tamil homeland
- A more perfect union
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The mechanism is the same, regardless of the nature of the idea: death--and memorials erected in the name of those who have died—testify to the reality of the entity or ideal. Death and memorialization perform a validation function.
PS: Human violence has nothing to do with "biological" aggression. Quite the contrary, it is performed in the name of highly abstract ideas and ideals. Human violence separates us from other animals, who kill for practical (biological) reasons (in the name of survival, obtaining food, etc.). We prove that we are humans (another kind of animal) by dying and killing for abstractions, that is, by dying and killing for nothing. |
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