Peace Research and Science. A Discussion Paper
| Author | Tord Høivik |
| Published date | 01 September 1983 |
| Date | 01 September 1983 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002234338302000307 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Peace
Research
and
Science.
A
Discussion
Paper*
TORD
HØIVIK
International
Peace
Research
Institute,
Oslo
The
paper
discusses
the
theoretical
foundation
of
peace
research,
and
argues
that
a
coherent
theory
of
conflict,
based
on
a
sociological
understanding
of
social
processes,
is
required
and
possible.
Biological
and
psychological
approaches
are
fruitful
in
understanding
human
conflict
behavior,
but
societal
conflict
—
which
includes
war —
has
properties
that
can
only
be
grasped
at
the
collective
level.
Today,
peace
research
seems
incoherent
because
insufficient
attention
has
been
paid
to
social
theory
and
to
the
philosophy
of
science
that
must
underlie
any
powerful
theory.
To
be of
value
to
peace
research,
such
theory
must
integrate
descriptive,
normative
and
reflexive
points
of
view.
Science
This
is
an
essay
in
the
philosophy
of
science.
Philosophy
is
that
field
of
rational
discourse
where
all
questions
are
legitimate.
Normal
scientific
activity
presupposes
a
steady
basis
-
what
Kuhn
calls
a
paradigm.
The
phil-
osophy
of
science
allows
discussion
of
science
without
taking
any
paradigm
for
granted.
Participants
in
such
discussions
are,
for
the
duration,
philosophers
of
science,
though
they
may
be,
like
the
author,
amateur
phi-
losophers.
In
human
experience
there
are
four
great
realms
of
being:
matter,
organisms,
persons,
and
societies.
These
constitute
an
ascending
order,
where
each
realm
presupposes
and
surpasses
the
preceding
ones.
At
each
level
fundamentally
new
properties
and
relation-
ships
appear.
But
the
lower
levels
persist
within
the
higher
and
should
be
fully
recognized.
This
is
one
sense
of
the
concept
materialism.
I
A
theory
is
a
body
of
interrelated
concepts
that
direct
empirical
research
and
give
co-
herence
to
its
findings.
For
a
field
of
study
to
be
scientific,
it
must
follow
the
rules
of
scientific
investigation.
For
a
field
of
study
to
be,
in
the
narrow
sense,
a
science
it
must
have
a
shared
theory,
or
possibly
competing
theories
that
claim
general
validity.
Today,
each
realm
has
a
major
science
with
fruitful
theories.
Physics,
biology,
psychology
and
sociology
are
the
basic
empirical
sciences,
and
all
other
fields
of
study
depend
on
these
four.
If
we
do
not
investigate
matter,
organ-
isms,
persons
or
societies
as
such,
but
only
particular
aspects
or
subsets,
their
general
properties
must
be
taken
as
granted.
The
astronomer
does
not
construct
models
of
the
atom -
he
borrows
them.
The
economist
does
not
explain
the
desire
for
caviar
-
she
assumes
it.
Peace
research
Peace
research
is
the
study
of
violent
conflict
at
the
social
level
in
order
to
reduce
the
amount
of
violence.
Peace
research
should
focus
on
conflict
at
the
level
of
societies.
But
societies
are
constituted
by
persons,
who
are
organisms
as
well
as
matter,
and
by
tools
that
are
definitely
matter.
Theories
that
relate
con-
flict
to
the
characteristics
of
persons,
of
organisms
or
of
matter,
are
therefore
admis-
sible.
But
they
are
still
unlikely
to
give
full
satisfaction.
There
will
simply
be
a
lack
of
concepts,
or
of
language,
to
express
conflict
phenomena
specific
to
the
social
level.
Biology
and
psychology
Biological
and
psychological
theories
of
con-
flicts
are
well
developed.
The
core
theory
of
modern
biology
is
the
theory
of
evolution,
and
a
remarkable
understanding
of animal
conflict
is
appearing
on
that
basis.
Conflict
*
This
paper
was
first
presented
at
a
PRIO
seminar
in
February
1983.
I
am
particularly
grateful
for
comments
from
Kumar
Rupesinghe.
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