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This writing treats of the theoretical
aspects of aggressiveness.
The term "theoretical", according to the definition usually
adopted in the common language, means here as what refers to an organic
set of hypotheses destined to the explanation of a phenomenon or an order
of phenomena.
Therefore I try to find, with regard to the main aspects of psychology,
both the notion of aggressiveness (and therefore the whole of behaviours
that can be defined as aggressive), both the causes that induce the
aggressive behaviours.
It is not purpose of this analysis to examine the particular aspects of
aggressiveness, as for instance aggressiveness in the infancy or in other
phases of the development, the pathological appearances, both at
individual level (for instance self-injury, suicide, etc.), both at social
level (crime, terrorism, etc.). I mention some of these aspects only for
those theoretical positions that attribute to them an essential value in
the definition of the aggressive phenomenon.
I don't likewise examine in detail the proposals of the various
theoretical schools aimed to reduce or to limit the social dangerousness
of the aggressive behaviours, but when they can contribute to facilitate
the comprehension of the theoretical notion of aggressiveness.
Moreover the contribution coming from disciplines not strictly inherent to
psychology, such as sociology, ethology and philosophy are only used when
they has indeed influenced the comprehension of the aggressive phenomenon
in the various psychological theories.
I instead completely skip the problem of the relationship between
neurophysiological aspects of the brain functioning and aggressive
behaviour. Many studies and publications have been written on such matter
which examine the possibility of therapeutic treatment with psychotropic
drugs: such matters cannot be treated in this writing because they imply
specific medical and scientific competences.
The writing in its complex aims to furnish the most possible exhaustive
picture of the different theoretical conceptions of aggressiveness in the
various aspects of psychology.
The first chapter treats the images of anger and
aggressiveness in the western philosophy, from the IV century b.C. up to
the end of last century, that is up to the rise of psychology as science.
I believe that the thought of some philosophers, that have faced in
significant way the theme of aggressiveness, contains some hints that
somehow anticipate aspects that psychology has then developed in a
systematic way during our century.
In the second chapter the theme of aggressiveness in psychoanalysis is
treated.
After having crossed the evolution of Freud's thought up to the hypothesis
that attributes the cause of aggressiveness to the principle of death, I
explain the position of other psychoanalysts in comparison to Freud's
hypothesis.
The third chapter examines some of the most important interpretative
hypotheses of the aggressive phenomenon in ethological and biological
field. I particularly examine those matters that can be alleged to support
the instinctive nature of aggressiveness, and in this perspective the
thought of K. Lorenz is analyzed more broadly.
The fourth chapter treats the interpretation of aggressiveness in the
American psychology, from Skinner to Bandura. Particularly the famous
frustration-aggression hypothesis of Dollard and collaborators is broadly
examined, with the various revisions and criticisms to which it has been
submitted.
In the fourth chapter is also treated the interpretation of aggressiveness
elaborated by the theories of the social learning such as A. Bandura's
one.
In the fifth chapter I examine the thought of T. Adorno, E. Fromm and A.
Heller that, even with reference to different disciplines (respectively
sociology, psychoanalysis and philosophy-anthropology) they are grouped by
the importance that they attribute to the social aspect in the
interpretation of the aggressive phenomenon.
In this chapter, my primarily aim is to enucleate those matters that can
furnish useful elements to the confutation of the hypothesis of
instinctive aggressiveness, particularly in the formulation of K. Lorenz.
In the conclusions, after having shortly recapitulated the limits of the
various theoretical interpretations, I synthetically mention the 80s'
perspectives of research. By way of example, since the analytical study of
the operational strategies and the methods of research aren't purpose of
this writing, I shortly expose Kornadt's proposal that, among those
emerged during the Eighties, seems to be as the one more able to bring
some consequences on the definition of the notion of aggressiveness.
(Translated by Maria Gregori
Sartori)
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