Rachel M. MacNair – författare

This volume introduces the concept of Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS), a form of PTSD symptoms caused not by traditionally expected roles, such as being a victim or rescuer in trauma, but by being an active participant in causing trauma. Sufferers of PITS may be in the roles of soldiers, executioners, or police officers, where it is socially acceptable or even expected for them to cause trauma, including death. Scattered evidence of PITS is consolidated, its implications are explored, and exciting potentials for future research are suggested.Compared to the more widely understood PTSD, there appears to be greater severity and different symptom patterns for those affected by PITS. Obvious differences to be explored for those who kill include questions of context, guilt, meaning, content of dreams, and sociological questions, leading to special implications for therapy, research into the causality of PTSD, and violence prevention efforts. Disciplines including sociology, public policy, history, philosophy, and theology will also find applications for this groundbreaking material.

This work explains an increasingly popular view dubbed the Consistent Life Ethic, which holds that all life deserves reverence, so all social support for actions that destroy life should be withdrawn. The call is for opposition to abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia and other forms of killing to be consistent. Supporters of this view, shared widely in these pages, include figures from the Dalai Lama and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malread Corrifon Maguire to actor Martin Sheen and Village Voice columnist Nat Hentoff. It is at once an ethical, religious and political ideology, explored here in its application to actions from treatment of unborn humans to infants, the disabled, the poverty-stricken, war combatants and animals.In the work at hand, contributors explain the history of the pro-life movement, its growth and expansion, how these types of seemingly disparate killing are all linked, why a Consistent Life Ethic is needed, and how individuals can take steps to assure this ethic is more widely accepted.

Despite our advances in technology and education, we still live in a world permeated by violence. This introductory textbook in the field of peace psychology addresses the psychological causes of violence and nonviolence, conflict resolution, nonviolent struggle, and the confluence of public policy and private lifestyles.Just as health providers study disease and its prevention, understanding the causes of violent behavior and how to prevent such behavior is a basic cornerstone for those who are working towards a healthy society. Another parallel: maintaining physical health involves positive practices; similarly, positive nonviolent approaches need to be psychologically understood and encouraged. The second edition of The Psychology of Peace: An Introduction demonstrates what can be learned through the lens of peace psychology, providing a solid foundation in the psychological theories needed for building and maintaining a peaceful society and peaceful individuals.This second edition incorporates the tremendous amount of new research and subsequent events since 2003, including post-2003 violent and nonviolent revolutions, such as the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the nonviolent overthrowing of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt. Author MacNair again outlines why application of psychological study to the soundness of decision-making for public policy—and to the policies themselves—is crucial knowledge, and how applying the study to private practices and even art can help build up a peaceful society.

Covering the nonviolence traditions in all the major religions as well as the contributions of religious traditions to major nonviolent practices, this book addresses theories of nonviolence, considers each religion individually, and highlights what discrete religious perspectives have in common.Covering all the major—and some of the larger minor—religions of the world, Religions and Nonviolence: The Rise of Effective Advocacy for Peace examines the rich history of how human thinking on nonviolence has developed and what each religion offers to the theory and practice of nonviolence, providing a counterpoint to the perspective that religion has largely inspired violence and intolerance. It also traces the contributions of religious traditions to secular nonviolent practices, recognizes and explains why religion has historically inspired violence, and provides additional resources for investigating the crossroads of religion and advocacy of nonviolence and peace.The author addresses the nonviolence traditions in religions such as Bahai, Buddhism, Christianity, Ethical Atheism, the First Nations of North America, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Tenrikyo, and Revitalized Paganism. Ancient religions with important contributions to nonviolence—Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Jainism—receive attention, as do Mo Tse and other Chinese philosophers as well as Pythagoras and other classical Greek thinkers. Students of religion, history of religion, sociology, or psychology will find this book key to achieving a balanced and therefore more accurate understanding of both religion and history. General readers will gain insights into the commonalities among different religions as well as each major religion's historical and current stances on issues of violence, such as human or animal sacrifice, slavery, war, and the death penalty.