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Five Lessons on Aggression and Dominance “There is a point in the history of society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that… it sides even with those who harm it.” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote this nearly 140 years ago, yet it still sounds contemporary. In *Chimpanzee Politics*, Frans de Waal shows that dominance, aggression, hierarchy and confrontation—often dismissed in humans as “toxic masculinity”—also appear in our closest relatives. These behaviors may reflect deep-rooted drives, not merely social constructs. **1. The threat of violence can keep the peace** Most chimp confrontations are displays, not fights. Only about 0.4% of male confrontations become physical. Rank depends on strength, alliances, displays and recognition. Violence matters partly because it is rare: conflict must be allowed to resolve before it escalates. **2. When respect disappears, violence rises** Chimpanzees maintain hierarchy through formal greetings, including bowing. At Arnhem, 22 of 37 serious male fights occurred when males had stopped greeting one another—even though such periods made up less than a quarter of observation time. Violence was nearly five times more likely when recognition rituals broke down. **3. Power requires alliances** Before challenging the dominant male, a chimp often grooms females and plays with their young. Like Machiavelli’s political challengers, he builds support before attempting to seize power. **4. Influence can replace force** Female chimps sometimes recruit males to attack rivals, signaling distress and flattering the enforcer while avoiding the fight. Power can operate through alliances and influence, not just strength. **5. Concentrated resources create conflict** Chimpanzees normally forage for scattered food, limiting competition. When humans provide concentrated food, aggression rises. Larger groups are also harder to govern because familiarity declines and hierarchies become unstable. Stable societies may require hierarchy, respect, controlled confrontation and distributed power. Suppressing every expression of dominance may not eliminate conflict; it may remove mechanisms that keep conflict contained.

Empathy, Compassion, and the Limits of Emotional Moral Judgment Empathy is widely regarded as a foundation of morality, but psychological research suggests that it is not an unqualified virtue. Paul Bloom (2017) argues that affective empathy—the experience of sharing another person’s feelings—has important limitations when used as a guide for moral judgment. First, empathy is biased. We respond more strongly to suffering that is vivid, identifiable, and psychologically close. Research on the “identifiable victim effect” shows that people can be more willing to help a specific individual than anonymous victims, even when the latter represent a much larger number (Kogut & Ritov, 2005; Lee & Feeley, 2016). Emotional salience therefore does not necessarily correspond to moral significance. Second, empathy is innumerate. Human emotional responses do not naturally scale with the number of people suffering. A single identifiable victim can evoke a powerful response, while thousands or millions of anonymous victims may produce comparatively little emotional engagement. This creates a problem when moral decisions concern suffering on a large scale (Bloom, 2017). Third, empathy can be exhausting. Repeatedly sharing the distress of others may produce empathic distress and emotional fatigue. Research suggests an important distinction between empathic resonance and compassion: while empathic engagement can increase negative affect, compassion can promote positive affect, motivation, and prosocial behaviour (Klimecki et al., 2014; Weng et al., 2013). The implication is not that we should care less. Rather, caring and feeling are not the same thing. Compassion allows us to recognize suffering and remain motivated to alleviate it without necessarily absorbing the suffering ourselves. Empathy may therefore be valuable for human connection, but it is a poor stand-alone system for making large-scale moral decisions. When millions of lives, limited resources, and competing needs are involved, compassion must be combined with reason, evidence, and deliberate judgment. The goal should not be to feel everything others feel. It should be to care deeply enough to help, while remaining clear-headed enough to help effectively. References: Bloom (2017); Kogut & Ritov (2005); Klimecki et al. (2014); Lee & Feeley (2016); Weng et al. (2013). Empathy and Its Discontents https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27916513/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

As things stand now, the AI investment boom will further cripple the already distressed state of public finances in most Western countries. Check my latest blog: AI's Multiple Ravaging of Public Finances https://t.co/NrYyBPNjxv #AIInvestment #PublicFinances #EconomicImpact #US #CA #GB #DE #FR #IT #NL #AU #NZ

This is not getting enough coverage. You are required to assist a vessel in distress. Unless you are Mark Zuckerberg, who couldn't care less. Behaviour like this will end the way it did in 1789. (But that was France; in the US, they haven't heard of the place) #VesselInDistress #MediaCoverage #PublicAwareness #FR #US

Elon Musk reveals what happens when a rocket launch needs approval from Fish and Wildlife Elon: "Nonetheless, we were forced to kidnap a seal, strap it to a board, put headphones on the seal and play sonic boom sounds to it to see if it would be distressed." Elon: "This is an actual thing that happened. This is actually real. I have pictures." Before the seal, there was a shark. Elon: "One of the things that was a bit of a challenge at one point is that they were worried about our rocket hitting a shark." He asked for the data to calculate the odds. They refused, in case shark hunters got hold of it. Elon: "Then they said, well, there's another part of Fish and Wildlife that can do this analysis. I'm like, well, why don't you give them the data? They don't, we don't trust them. Like, excuse me, but they're literally in your department." Then a second agency raised whales. Elon: "If our rocket does hit a whale, which is extremely unlikely beyond all belief, that whale has some seriously bad luck. It's the least lucky whale ever." The seal test was for launches out of Vandenberg, where the seal population has been rising for years. Elon: "So if anything, rocket booms are an aphrodisiac based on the evidence." Elon: "The amazing part is how calm the seal was. Because if I was a seal, I'd be like, this is the end. They're definitely gonna eat me." Elon: "Its seal buddies are never gonna believe him that he got strapped to a board and they put headphones on his ears." They did it twice. Elon: "I don't think the public is quite aware of the madness that goes on." https://x.com/NarutoNolimits/status/2084355472723968245

In the BBC article, you can do a bingo of British newspeak: ✅ distressing incident ✅ difficult time ✅ thoughts and prayers (translated)

Article discusses the recent mass layoffs at Mediaworks, a key propaganda hub for the Fidesz government in Hungary, where employees express their dissatisfaction and fear regarding job losses that affect nearly every editorial department, illustrating the turmoil and emotional distress within the workforce. #Fidesz #Mediaworks #masslayoffs

Finnish authorities are investigating an agency that defrauded around 350 Burmese students, including Ma Naw Phaw, who sought refuge in Finland after fleeing military conflict in Myanmar, by charging them exorbitant fees for vocational school admissions and residence permits that were never secured, leaving many in financial distress. #CollegeScam #BurmeseStudents #FinlandEducation

The vicious attacker who attempted to murder a man in north Belfast last night is now in police custody. My thoughts remain with the victim, his family & the local residents who witnessed such traumatic & distressing scenes. The courage & quick actions of local people & the https://t.co/KyUuWJF47R #Belfast #Crime #CommunitySupport #GB

His pattern of stalking, trespassing, and surveillance has caused me severe and ongoing emotional distress. [He] fabricated the outrageous and entirely false claim that he personally knew me and that I was expecting him. This was a complete lie. The incident in which he allegedly attempted to enter my home is among the most disturbing violations of personal safety and privacy I have ever experienced.

Extremely distressing video, which shows Irish activist Catriona Graham being assaulted & dragged away right at the beginning. I know her since we were teenagers. New Irish gov statement below: https://t.co/iWAElEP8pq https://t.co/nVMb6Quyl1 #CatrionaGraham #IrishActivism #HumanRights #IE

On a night in early April, Santi Sanaya received a distressing message from her husband, Captain Ashari Samadikun, whose oil tanker had been hijacked by Somali pirates, signaling a troubling resurgence of piracy in the region amidst ongoing Iranian tensions and regional instability, potentially leading to increased shipping costs and maritime threats. #Piracy #MaritimeSecurity #MiddleEastInstability #IR #AE #ID #SO #IN #PK #SY #YE #MM #EG

The article discusses Annika Waheed's experience with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a severe psychiatric condition that causes intense psychological distress linked to hormonal changes, revealing how it has affected her mental health, including suicidal thoughts, and highlighting the need for better awareness and diagnosis among healthcare providers, as well as ongoing discussions about treatment options for those affected. #MentalHealth #WomensHealth #PMDD #GB