Virtuous Violence
Hurting and Killing to Create, Sustain, End, and Honor Social Relationships

'Through compelling analyses ranging from primeval forms of human sacrifice to contemporary torture, ancient wars to medieval jousts, contact sports to gang fights, violent revolutions to suicide terrorism and mass murder, Virtuous Violence lays bare the moral motives for murderous passions, as a sort of evolutionary impetus to manage the interpersonal and intergroup interactions upon which societies depend, often aided by gods, spirits and abstract causes to which no creature but man is subject.' Scott Atran, Directeur de Recherche, Anthropologie, CNRS/Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris and author of In Gods We Trust and Talking to the Enemy

'A provocative tour through the (long) world history of violence. You won't think about violence and its many manifestations - or read a newspaper - the same way again.' Dov Cohen, University of Illinois

'It's so hard for us to think clearly about violence because acts of violence trigger such strong moral condemnation. Fiske and Rai strip the moralism out of our own minds and put it where it belongs - in the minds of the perpetrators, who usually think their acts are justified. This astonishing book offers a unified approach to understanding the most ghastly events, from street crime and honor killings through war crimes and genocide. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and ultimately reduce violence.' Jonathan Haidt, New York University Stern School of Business, and author of The Righteous Mind

'It's not possible to have a clear understanding of the past, present or future of war, terrorism and torture without knowing the basic message of Virtuous Violence.' Richard E. Nisbett, Distinguished University Professor, University of Michigan

'We have all watched movies where violent actions occur as part and consequence of social relations, and where the art of the movie consists of letting the audience share exactly the same emotions and motives that make that violence inevitable and feel right. At the same time, the mainstream social psychological arguments rarely pick up on these motives. This book provides a powerful argument in favor of scientifically considering these causes of violence. It is a scientifically important book, which touches on many issues we are concerned about as citizens, and will surely attract much attention and discussion as well as hopefully influencing future work in the social and behavioural sciences on this topic.' Thomas Schubert, University of Oslo

'The authors of this exciting book convincingly show that most individuals and groups engage in violence believing that what they do is right, moral and even obligatory. This well-written book shows the great challenge of preventing such righteous violence, and provides the knowledge base to engage with this challenge.' Ervin Staub, author of The Roots of Evil; The Psychology of Good and Evil and Overcoming Evil

'Virtuous Violence settles the question of whether violence is a rational act or an expressive gesture triggered by the emotions. Morally motivated violence, the authors explain, is based on emotional experience. But while emotions may be acted on impulsively, there is no reason why a moral stance cannot be arrived at logically and pursued with careful planning. This solution is much more intellectually satisfying than the binary division of one versus the other, and means that the message of the book may be reconciled with the work of diverse theorists.' David Mansley, Theoretical Criminology