Killer Instinct

Contrary to the Judeo-Christian belief that humans are killers at heart because of Cain killing Able and bringing the “mark of Cain” upon humanity, humans are not killers. Other than a few sociopaths and psychopaths, humans are simply not natural killers. The man-as-killer myth has been perpetuated by other beliefs, such as the philosophy of the Enlightenment  in which Thomas Hobbes's depicts the state of nature as a "war of all against all."

Hobbes argued that, without government, the conflicting desires of humans would pit every man against his neighbor in a bloodbath without end. He assumed "wild violence" as the normal state of humans in what anthropologists now call "pre-state" societies. However, Hobbes underestimated the innate sociability of human beings. History presents many examples of "pre-state" societies, which, while violent against outsiders, are internally peaceful. With the exception of wartime, humans, contrary to what is presented by the entertainment industry, are stable and nonviolent.

The entertainment industry depicts humans as cold-blooded killers just waiting for a reason to kill. They perpetuate the myth that when humans are driven to desperation, they kill naturally. Yet, the military still has to train recruits to kill other humans, even when they are being shot at by the enemy. Although humans instinctively kill for food, they do not instinctively want to kill other humans, no matter the reason.