Abstract
What are the origins of war and peace ? Our species, Homo sapiens, presents a remarkable paradox : we are the only species capable of both lethal conflict and extensive peaceful cooperation between groups. While some species engage in inter-group conflict (such as, for example, chimpanzees, wolves and ants), others demonstrate limited inter-group cooperation (such as bonobos and dolphins), but no other species combines these two behaviors on such a scale and with such complexity. By integrating data from a wide range of disciplines (biology, primatology, anthropology, archaeology, genetics, neuroscience, criminology, social psychology, linguistics, demography and climatology), the book presented by Hugo Meijer - Janus-faced: The Origins of War and Peace in the Human Species - analyzes the biological, cultural and environmental factors that make it possible to grasp when and why this duality, which distinguishes us within the animal kingdom, emerged during the human lineage.
Hugo Meijer has been invited by Pr Jean-Jacques Hublin.
