The Seville Statement on Violence | UNESCO, 1986

The Seville Statement on Violence is a landmark declaration adopted in Seville on 16 May 1986 by an international group of scientists and scholars.

The statement challenges the idea that war and violence are biologically inevitable. It rejects the claim that human beings are genetically programmed for war, that aggression is our evolutionary destiny, or that violence is caused by a single instinct.

The statement is built around five propositions:

“It is scientifically incorrect to say that we have inherited a tendency to make war from our animal ancestors.”

“It is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behaviour is genetically programmed into our human nature.”

“It is scientifically incorrect to say that in the course of human evolution there has been a selection for aggressive behaviour more than for other kinds of behaviour.”

“It is scientifically incorrect to say that humans have a ‘violent brain’.”

“It is scientifically incorrect to say that war is caused by ‘instinct’ or any single motivation.”

Its central message is simple and powerful:

Biology does not condemn humanity to war.

The statement concludes:

“Just as ‘wars begin in the minds of men’, peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us.”

This audio reading is part of Peaceful World’s educational work: sharing texts, ideas, and voices that support nonviolence, peace education, and a deeper understanding of human responsibility.

Peaceful World is an independent nonprofit initiative dedicated to peace education, ethics, nonviolence, and the cultivation of a more humane future.

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Signatories:

David Adams — Psychology, Wesleyan University, USA

S. A. Barnett — Ethology, The Australian National University, Australia

N. P. Bechtereva — Neurophysiology, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences of the U.S.S.R., Soviet Union

Bonnie Frank Carter — Psychology, Albert Einstein Medical Center, USA

José M. Rodriguez Delgado — Neurophysiology, Centro de Estudios Neurobiológicos, Spain

José Luis Díaz — Ethology, Instituto Mexicano de Psiquiatría, Mexico

Andrzej Eliasz — Individual Differences Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Santiago Genovés — Biological Anthropology, Instituto de Estudios Antropológicos, Mexico

Benson E. Ginsburg — Behavior Genetics, University of Connecticut, USA

Jo Groebel — Social Psychology, Erziehungswissenschaftliche Hochschule, Federal Republic of Germany

Samir-Kumar Ghosh — Sociology, Indian Institute of Human Sciences, India

Robert Hinde — Animal Behaviour, Cambridge University, UK

Richard E. Leakey — Physical Anthropology, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya

Taha H. Malasi — Psychiatry, Kuwait University, Kuwait

J. Martín Ramírez — Psychobiology, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

Federico Mayor Zaragoza — Biochemistry, Universidad Autónoma, Spain

Diana L. Mendoza — Ethology, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

Ashis Nandy — Political Psychology, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, India

John Paul Scott — Animal Behaviour, Bowling Green State University, USA

Riitta Wahlstrom — Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Text - https://peaceful-world.org/seville-statement-on-violence