After watching The Purge last night, the idea came up in the movie that humans are naturally violent beings. In that film, they had a 12 hour span of time where murder is legal, and emergency systems were shut down, and every day around that was pleasant, crime rates were next to nonexistant, employment was at it's high, and the economy was absolutely flourishing because of that one night to vent all of their negative emotions into a massive legal killing spree.

So it comes to the question of it's truth: Are we naturally violent beings? Is the key to our society's advancement actually hidden in our own violent nature?

Are humans naturally violent? I believe so. Those who believe in evolution will make the case that we evolved from hunters who had to fight to survive, and that still lives with us. And if it wasn't that, it has been proved even in these years that if you fight and win, then you get what you want.

Is the key to advancement hidden in our violent nature? No, something like the purge would not work. Some would take the time to wait for the purge, but there are plenty of crimes committed that didn't have time. What if someone was going to turn you in for something? Or take your kids to CPS? Then if you were to kill them, you wouldn't have time to wait for the purge. I don't think many people would actually wait.

What an interesting question. I do believe the human being is naturally violent, since the nature has for a lot of time required actions that could be seen as violent, in order for many species to survive, including ours.

But as for that being the key for a sort of progress, evolution or advancement of any sorts, It depends. Yes, it can help to reach those goals, but that doesn't means it is the key. The idea of an holocaust is totally comprehensible if you take violence as the key for progress though, you'd simply be removing the obstacles for progress by killing them. That would be a way to increase the quantity of individuals on our species that are apparently more capable than others and that might contribute to our society. But we live in a society where ethics and moral are always present, so that's out of question. What are the criteria for deciding who's qualified or not? Hitlers ideals were completely fine for some people, but we all know that in fact, the majority didn't agree with his ideals. As a consequence, those that disagreed with those ideals would see the world as a better place without them. But if the majority of people actually agreed with those ideals, and they became a reality, wouldn't it be the same? If the majority thinks it's correct, they'll probably be satisfied with it. Even with that, there's always a parcel of people that are not satisfied with something. The criteria for deciding what's best or not for the world will always vary, since we all share different ideals and concepts of what's right and what's wrong. If you eliminate the ones you deem unworthy, or that simply disagree with your ideas of right and wrong, you will be simply trying to model the world to fit your desires, this doesn't mean you'll be making a better society even though in your perspective it would. If the majority agrees with you though, it's possible that you are, but there will always be someone to disagree at some point, since we are all different from each other.

So yeah, considering the society we live in, I don't see that as the key for progress. It's still a factor that can have a lot of influence, but not the key.

Humans are naturally violent when it comes to survival.  All animals are.  There isn't one animal that would roll over and die instead of fight for survival.  It's an instinct inherent in all creatures.

Would The Purge happen if it were a reality?  Some people would go for it.  I think most would be welcoming and band together to make sure their neighborhoods survived.  I think my neighborhood would defend our street against other people  Most folks would work together, wait it out, or try to avoid violence.

Humans resort to violence for survival by nature.  I don't think humans are violent to the point of enjoyment.  Not as a general rule.  Some people are but some folks have altered realities.

If you are asking "If we make the Purge a reality, will things change?" ... then the answer is no.
However, if you are asking if we would like this kind of thing, then the answer to that question is yes.

warmaker : Exactly. Look at the animal kingdom. It is rife with violence. Who are we to remove ourselves from that when we have existed on this planet along side these animals for thousands of years, just because we wear clothes and use utensils to eat our cooked food? The fact that we can use tools and weapons better than any other animal just makes us more efficient at enacting violence, it does not elevate us above them. On the other page you can easily witness a Lioness express great love and care for her cubs, a goose's monogamous loyalty to its partner until death, or a pair of bear cubs play fighting with their siblings just as we do. Also I'm not violent but if you put me or my family in a life or death situation and you are the threat, then I will fight tooth and nail to protect my own, just like a dog in a corner. 

You ask if are humans naturally violent? I say we are perfectly natural.

Yes, we may go in our path to get whatever we want as humans, we destroy and we ruin everything just to expand. We destroy life, look at deforestation for example and we hunt everything and a lot of animals, we pollute the atmosphere and kill all living things and put them  on the brink of extinction just so we can live and get what we want. We are humans, we don't stop until we get what we want even if we have to go down fighting for it, we are selfish, greedy and unsatisfied until we have destroyed all living things and depleted all of our natural resources. I see shows on how we should inhabit other planets in search of life, but honestly I don't think that we deserve a 2nd chance, we have polluted and destroyed this earth and the last thing we need is to get a second shot at life just to do the same thing over again. So yes I think humans are very violent when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get what they want, we can be primitive, selfish, consumed by hate and we don't care about what we do to other living things. That is all I have to say on the matter, sorry if that is harsh but it is the truth.

I went fishing yesterday, and had to kill a fish. I did it with confidence and because I knew I was going to eat it later. But I honestly feel bad about it. Here made a fish swallow a sharp hook, and then pull him out of the water by this hook, then let him dangle on it flopping around, his whole body weight hanging on a something driven into the side of his throat. Then as he's struggling for air, I chop his head off.

It bothers me. I'll do it again because I enjoy the fishing and the fish, but it goes against my instinct killing it.

On the other hand, many of the games I play or the movies I watch have SOME form of violence to them (I don't like really violent things though). And it's enjoyable, I like being Link and slashing baddies to bits... cause their bad.

In general I think many humans are very violent deep inside, but I think many of us are not, and rather peace and love than killing.

I don't think humans aren't naturally violent I believe violence in humans comes from the effect of a(n) external force causing the human individual to act out of emotions/feelings of anger. And furthermore I can't see any society benefiting or advancing by allowing or promoting a night  were for a designated period of time were murder is legal, infect that ideal would further diminish society because someone that would participate in a(n) event like that could potentially kill high ranked government officials and other high ranking important members of society that make actually contributions to the world. 

I think that, yeah, humans are naturally very violent creatures, much like any other animal is, really. However, we have evolved over time to suppress our violence into things such as racism, war, etc. as means of justification. Poor justification, but still.

I believe we've suppressed this natural violence in our way of domesticating ourselves, much like how we have domesticated wild animals into pets. I think that this form of self-domestication was what lead to the Agricultural Revolution which probably happened much farther down the line.

We still have the instincts for survival, but overall, I think that domesticating ourselves made us ultimately weaker as a species.

I do think so. Our original source of food was killing other animals and now we kill other people for stupid reasons!

There are people who would be naturally violent people. Then there be people who hold their violence in but if they were given a chance like the purge to kill somebody that probably has wronged him/her or if they see somebody that makes them mad every time they see them that they could kill them without ever having to face consequences. Then you would have the people who would move to a location where nobody will find them hide there until the purge is over.

Barathemos : It may seem that way to you, but they usually see it as the only way to fix their problems.

ender44 : Good point. But killing is not the best way to solve problems. Lots of people realize that but some people just don't care.

I think our natural instinct is violence however I also believe that we learn from the moment we are born and that instinct can be suppressed to the point that we no longer notice it, this could just be a delusion because we think we are above it so we suppress it in daily life. My personal belief is that God gave us the ability to override these instincts and become an individual different from society. If we were given the chance to legally murder I think we wouldn't be encouraged to become an individual and in a way degenerate to savages who know little more than how to kill and I don't think anybody wants to become this.

Yes as a race we are quite nasty and extremely brutal to be honest, it only takes a brief look at our past through the ages to confirm this.One of the only few things that have been consistent has been war!Whether it's holy wars, territorial wars and obviously the wars for natural resources it's all violence at the end of the end sadly.

Faith

It's all on instinct and what you think is the right thing to do for you. If it's survival, then yes, killing is needed if you want to keep living the next day. But humans have morals too, and it gets conflicting as to which is more important, and it drives normal people insane. So it's all up to what humans think is right, what they think is right to do that benefits as many people as possible, including themselves.

The absolute best example of this instinct is the PS3 game "That Last of Us."

"Do you stand by your morals and die? Or do whatever it takes to survive?"

I don't believe we are because we are a communal species meaning we work best as a community. That's not to say we are not violent, we most certainly are, but we work best in cooperation, not violence. That's just my opinion on the subject though so feel free to point out where I'm wrong.

Yeah, humans are naturally violent, normally during the early years of humans; they were naturally violent to get food and territory, and for as long as humans existed, we have been fighting for food and land, but nowadays, it’s because of stupid reasons like some wars being fought it are pointless.