I sometimes wonder in what ways we are really progressing as a species. Some are pretty clear, I see life-span estimates all the time, but I wonder if anyone has tried to measure the level of suffering we have inflicted on each other over time. For this question, we could say it's just war, murder, execution, one human killing another on purpose. I am generally curious about historical estimates of this type if anyone knows where to look for such information.
2006-09-30 12:17:21 · 5 answers · asked by zofo 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
As a species we are prone to repeat our history. Researchers can only speculate on the suffering caused by humans over the span of time. Some of it is a natural progression in evolution. Other times suffering is caused by a difference of opinions and beliefs of a society. I believe there is really know way of having any accurate figures for this accountability- just what one social structure believes.
2006-09-30 12:25:24 · answer #1 · answered by LostInTheCrowd 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, the FBI uniform crime report might have statistics for crimes per year, which could be compared to the US Bureau of Censuses population estimates... In the US, these would be available on the Internet.
However, if you're looking for older information, it would be tough to find. After a hundred years of decomposition, a moron who breaks his head in an axe looks remarkably like a murder victim... whereas someone who is murdered by getting gutted with a knife looks a lot like someone who died in their sleep once all the bodily tissues are gone... and of course, with enough skeletons mixed together, it's hard to be sure you even know how many dead people you are looking at.
2006-09-30 19:37:48 · answer #2 · answered by ye_river_xiv 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no one can tell how many people have been murdered since the beginning of human history... because we don't even know when that was.
oh, speaking of level of suffering... have you looked at the laws in ancient Rome or any other ancient civilization for that matter. you can really call the people then intolerant, which depending on your thought, will give you interesting theories...
2006-09-30 22:03:41 · answer #3 · answered by christy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
humans will turn out to be nothing more than a blip in geologic time. We really are just overly arrogant thinking that it is all about humanity.
2006-09-30 19:26:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the bible and see how many horrible crimes are committed in there
2006-09-30 19:20:35 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋