The Conflict Motive and Human Nature

In the following article, we speak of and propose contradictory views on the collective motives behind armed conflicts that have occurred through history. We attempt to explain a society’s mass reasoning behind entering into war with another society and that reasoning’s direct source- human nature. As you will read on, Arnav proposes and backs the perspective that all human armed conflict is based on the idea that humans seek to propagate a core set of ideologies they believe in and seek to destroy any competing ideologies- they fight for what they believe in at the subconscious, very basic instinct level. Rahul proposes and backs the view that all human conflict is based on the desire for acquisition of power or resources-they fight for money.

The perspectives put forth below are not backed by hard research and are solely the opininons of the writers, contrary to most other literature on Atypical Rationale. There is no legitimate way to prove either and the choice between the two is purely subjective- both are equally plausible and the only way you can differentiate between their legitimacy is by your own discretion and beliefs about human nature.

The Raison D’Etre

To begin with, we’d like to elaborate on why thinking differently and perceiving things objectively or at least in a different way is vital for the correction of mainstream thinking. The fundamental idea of democracy is to make accommodations for ideas other than the majority’s, for the whole’s benefit. Expressing unconventional thinking on a broad array of things helps breed contemplation on why things are as they are, how they should be and how we should or shouldn’t do something about them. The understanding of why non-conformist thinking is imperative is likely to be explained in detail in the future.

In this unavoidably awkward first post, we intend to describe what we intend to do with this site and where we hope it will go and lead us. For starters, Atypical Rationale’s long-term raison d’etre is to share our own opinions and invite others to share theirs, hopefully sparking debates and exchange of ideas. In a purely selfish motive, using the blog as an outlet for our ideas and perspectives soon after their birth would probably help us consolidate them in our memory for future use.